Colored ribbons have become the international symbol of support and awareness for a wide array of causes, not least of which is cancer. Every type of cancer is aligned with a color—pink for breast cancer and gold for childhood cancer for example. Lavender represents the fight against all cancers and the efforts to conquer the illness completely. It was with this goal that Love Out Lavender was born.

When Matrix Artistic Educator and 2013 NAHA Finalist Todd Kane’s mother received a cancer diagnosis, he remembered she taught him to believe that love conquers all. He took this to heart and founded Love Out Lavender, setting out to prove that creativity can help defeat cancer. 

Love Out Lavender is a non-profit designed to unite creative people in the mission to find a cure for cancer. It encourages beauty professionals to create inspiring images to raise funds through sponsorship, events and an annual calendar.

“The beauty industry creates these wonderful fundraising images to give voice to people who don’t know what to say, give emotion to those who don’t know what to feel and to generate money for prevention, for survival and ultimately for a cure,” Kane says.

The organization’s second-annual campaign runs from February 4, 2016, World Cancer Day, through June 5, 2016, National Cancer Survivor’s Day. Individuals, salons, beauty schools and others are invited to choose a colored ribbon to be the focus of a fundraising campaign, then inspire donations by designing an image that reflects their story of fighting cancer. Kane recommends building an event around the photoshoot and sharing the finished images on social media to further awareness and gain support. 

“It is the love behind these images and their unique stories that move people to action.”—TODD KANE 

Love Out Lavender does not target donations directly; instead it focuses on igniting the passions of others and giving them a tool to raise funds. “It’s about love and creativity,” Kane says. “Put your heart into it, and the money will come.”

And it did. Love Out Lavender sponsors created 18 powerful images to tell their stories of fighting cancer. Together, these images generated 215 donations, 20,000 page visits, 4,500 users and $10,000 toward the search for a cure.

“The power of Love Out Lavender is not just in the images, but also in the stories behind them,” Kane says. “Beyond the money that is raised, there is healing in the sense of community and connectedness that the organization fosters. The images and their stories speak to their creators’ hearts, tenacities and, most of all, their belief that creativity can conquer cancer.”

This year, Love Out Lavender anticipates an even greater campaign that includes beauty schools, manufacturers, retailers and artists who have been inspired by the 2015 campaign.

How To Get Involved:

1. Sponsor it. World Cancer Day is February 4, 2016—log on to loveoutlavender.org and choose a ribbon to inspire your concept. You can bring awareness to the form of cancer you choose however you want, be it a message of faith, hope, courage, love, prevention, survival or even frustration. With your sponsorship, you’re trying to move people to donate.

2. Create it. Tap into your community of local artists, beauty schools, boutiques and designers to share their stories and passion for a photoshoot.

3. Promote it. Change your Facebook picture to the Love Out Lavender logo, encourage your friends and family to do the same, and share your image across all of your social media platforms.

The campaign closes June 5, 2016, National Cancer Survivor’s Day.