A Utah woman who survived childhood cancer founded a nonprofit to make sure no family in the state faces that battle alone.
Ciearra Everpack, now 10 years in remission, started From Chemo to Crown, a nonprofit organization helping lift up Utah families battling childhood cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
Everpack was 12 years old when she was diagnosed. "A 12-year-old hears cancer, and she thinks she's not going to survive."
Her mother recalled a moment during treatment that revealed her daughter's quiet strength.
"I remember taking her to school, and she had her wig on. We pulled up to school, and we sat in the car, and she took her wig off and decided that she was going to walk into school with no hair and no wig, and I sat in my car and cried because I thought she's so strong."
Everpack credits the support of family and friends with helping her endure treatment and other challenges. That support is what she wanted to give back to other families.
Everpack's family serves in From Chemo to Crown alongside her, helping raise money for financial support, providing meaningful activities for families, and offering a listening ear from people who can relate. Their shared commitment is reflected even in a family tattoo — the non-Hodgkin lymphoma ribbon and the breast cancer ribbon joined together to form a heart.
When asked how the nonprofit got started, Everpack said, "I don't know. One day we were in the hospital, and I said that I just wanted to give back to the amazing [people] that had given so much to us."
Her goal for the organization is to keep easing the burden on families in crisis.
"We just want to keep making the lives of families here in Utah that are going through these really difficult situations easier as much as we can. It is the scariest place to be in when you're unsure of your child's health, and we just want to make that burden a little bit lighter."
The nonprofit can be found on Facebook at From Chemo to Crown and on Instagram at @ChemoToCrown. A new website is expected to launch within the next month or two.
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