Make Your Mark: Janice Blick

Meet the Angel Lady, who gives gifts of hope to families battling cancer.

• Inspiring People

The Person: Janice Blick
The Cause: Angels for cancer patients

Lisbon Falls, ME -- Janice Blick has given gifts of hope to families with a loved one battling cancer -- one angel at a time.

Since 2000, Janice has been making small "angels" from simple beads and satin ribbons, and distributing them to families at hospitals, hospice facilities, and cancer treatment centers in Portland, Lewiston, and Westbrook, Maine.

Janice started making the angels when her husband of 21 years, Malcolm J. Blick, was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. When she took him for treatment, she began to interact with other patients and families who were fighting cancer.

She was always there with a smile, and sometimes a hug, to comfort them during their tough time. She then started handing out the angels as symbols of hope and encouragement, to affirm that someone else believed in them as they battled the disease and that everyone can be united in the fight.

"When Jan gives an angel to someone, she feels like she is giving them hope, love, a friend, a hug," says her sister, Laurie A. Renshaw.

Many people have offered to pay Janice for these little symbols of hope, but she has never accepted a dime. In the past year alone, she has encouraged families with gifts of more than 1,000 angels.

People in her community praise Janice's commitment. "Many people refer to her as the Angel Lady, not just people who have been touched by cancer. She has been told that the recipients feel encouraged because it inspires them to have hope and faith in family and each other," Renshaw says.
-- Submitted by Laurie A. Renshaw

From rd.com