Some special people appear on the show and become more than guests; they first become supporters and grow into good friends.
Elissa Kalver is one of those people.
Elissa is the founder of WeGotThis.org, a Stage IV metastatic breast cancer thriver herself, and someone whose work is built on service, embodying the ethos of the show: use what you’re building to make somebody else’s life better.
WeGotThis.org began with a simple but eye-opening realization during Elissa’s own treatment: when someone has cancer, their loved ones desperately want to help and support but often don’t know how. This compelled her to create the first nonprofit universal gift registry specifically designed for people with cancer and their caregivers, giving patients going through treatment a way to ask for what they actually need.
Now, Elissa and her team are asking us to help again.
Introducing the ‘Be Like Brittney’ Fund ❤️
This October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, WeGotThis.org is doing something beautifully simple:
31 days.
31 metastatic breast cancer thrivers.
31 unrestricted $500 grants.
No receipts. No justification for how the money is spent.
A plane ticket. A concert. A weekend away. An electric bill that takes one worry off the table.
Whatever brings that person a little more joy.
And there’s an important reason behind it all.
The fund honors Elissa’s friend and metastatic breast cancer community warrior Brittney Beadle, who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at just 18 years old. Brittney spent more than a decade living with the disease while advocating, traveling, dancing, giving, and encouraging others to keep finding joy and living a life that matters.
She died earlier this year at only 29.
Her legacy inspired a very Worthy idea:
Cancer takes enough. Why not put something back?
An estimated 170,000 women are living with metastatic breast cancer in the United States, according to the most recent estimate cited by Susan G. Komen. MBC is treatable, but it is not currently curable; treatment focuses on extending life and preserving quality of life.
Those numbers make this campaign feel even more human to me.
Because $500 isn’t going to change someone’s diagnosis.
But it can change a day. It’s service to others that creates a ripple effect extending beyond the $500 donation.
It can create a memory. Remove a financial burden. Pay for something a family has been putting off. Or simply give someone permission to choose joy without having to explain what they need or why they need it.
And 31 is only the beginning.
The initial goal required $15,500 to fund 31 people. WeGotThis.org has received 300+ nominations, and the organization doesn’t want to stop at 31. Knowing Elissa (go big or go home), the goal is now at $50,000, and they’ve raised over $33,000!
With October right around the corner, hitting this goal is both meaningful and urgent!
Every additional $500 raised means another person living with metastatic breast cancer can receive a grant.
This is where I’m asking the Worthy for Thirty community to show up.
This one is personal.
I’ve had the privilege of speaking with more than 100 founders, executives, nonprofit leaders, and creators through this show.
Elissa is in rarefied air.
She has (constantly) reminded me that being mission-driven isn’t something you put in a deck or on an About page. It’s what you choose to do when you have an opportunity to make somebody else’s life a little better, especially when the social media reels stop rolling.
That’s the work WeGotThis.org does every day.
And it’s exactly the kind of work I want this community to rally around.
So I’m asking you to help me help Elissa say “yes” to as many of those 300+ nominees as possible.
If 20 people from this community give $25, that’s another $500 grant.
If 10 give $50, that’s another thriver.
If one person gives $500, you’ve just put unrestricted joy directly into somebody’s hands.
And if donating isn’t possible right now, sharing this post with someone else matters too.
💗 Want to help fund joy? Donate.
💗 Living with MBC? Nominate yourself.
💗 Know an MBC thriver? Nominate them.
Donate or nominate someone through the Be Like Brittney Fund
October can be an incredibly complicated and emotional month for people actually living with breast cancer. Good chances we know someone who has cancer and/or has gone through treatment.
So instead of simply turning everything pink, let’s help put something tangible into the hands of the people living it.
31 days. 31 thrivers. And hopefully, with our help, many more.
Let’s be like Brittney.
— Eric
Worthy for Thirty