Boxes of Hope awarded $25,000 from Scentsy
By Christopher Miller
LOCK HAVEN – One local non-profit organization was the recipient of a major financial award from Scentsy, the international personal and home fragrance company.
Boxes of Hope, a breast cancer non-profit founded by survivor and Rote resident Traci Fotorny (top right), spreads hope and encouragement by sending care packages and mastectomy pillows to women and men in active breast cancer treatments.
“I started Boxes of Hope in 2019 as a way to give back and pay forward the kindness I received during my own breast cancer journey,” Traci said. “I incorporated as a 501c3 non-profit organization in 2021.”
Fast-forward to December 2023 and Traci received a message that Boxes of Hope had been selected as one the organizations that Scentsy had chosen to receive a donation to her cause.
“This was all because local Scentsy representative and friend Jenn Meanor (top left) nominated my organization for the award,” Traci said.
Scentsy, as Jenn described, always has some sort of donation program going on.
“In October they wanted consultants and customers to nominate non-profits who are breast cancer organizations,” Jenn said. “I nominated Traci and asked my friends to nominate and vote for her, so it was truly a team effort.”
“Scentsy was founded on simplicity, authenticity, and generosity, and is a worldwide organization,” Jenn said. “So they selected 24 non-profits worldwide, and one of those was Boxes of Hope.”
At first, no knowledge of the donation amount was given, only that Boxes of Hope was chosen as a recipient.
“I thought, is this scam, is this real,” Traci questioned. “They wanted to give us $20,000 at first, so I researched the person that reached out to me to verify if they actually worked for Scentsy, then when I learned that this was real, the very next day I heard that an extra $5,000 was added to the donation, making the total amount $25,000.”
“I am extremely grateful for the donation, the recognition, and the opportunity to help serve a lot more women and men,” said Traci. “I am happy that I can keep our local cancer center supplied with care packages, but also happy that the organization has been able to supply 48 states (with the exceptions being Wyoming and South Dakota) and one province in Canada, Manitoba, with our care packages.”
While Traci is excited that the organization can now help more people in need, she was even more excited to be able to regain some of her home and her life from the many packages and supplies needed to assemble the boxes.
“I was operating out of my home before I was able to sign the lease on a small workspace to assemble care packages,” Traci said. “My spare bedroom was full, and that had infiltrated part of my kitchen and living room…it looked like an Amazon warehouse, and I am so happy to have been able to find a place to designate our headquarters and workspace.”
Jenn, the local Scentsy representative responsible for nominating Traci’s organization and getting the world out, is nothing but excited for Traci and all that this donation will help her accomplish.
“I am passionate about Scentsy and what they do, especially since I am beginning to lose my sight and am going on my own journey losing one of my senses, that I do not need to be able to see to do what I am doing; I can smell, and talk to people about Scentsy and this organization,” Jenn said. “My Scentsy family has been everything to me.”
To date, Boxes of Hope has sent over 1,200 care packages and over 800 mastectomy pillows to cancer patients throughout the United States and Canada.
Please contact Boxes of Hope to request a care package, make a donation, or to volunteer by visiting their website at www.boh4bc.org or emailing info@boh4bc.org.
