Meet Judy Pearson of A 2nd Act

Today we’d like to introduce you to Judy Pearson.

Judy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Our mission: Recognizing that helping is healing, A2ndAct.org supports and celebrates women survivors of all cancers who are using their gifts of time and experience to give back to the greater good in their 2nd Acts.

Cancer doesn’t end when treatment does. Myriad psycho-social and physical issues linger. Most of all, survivors struggle with making sense of their journey and finding its purpose in their lives. But there is ever-growing research supporting the theory that healing is helping. Thus, A2ndAct.org was born – survivors helping survivors take their lives back after cancer!

Survivors’ 2nd Acts don’t necessarily have to be cancer related. Children, animals, the environment –whatever makes the heart sing. In this case, size doesn’t matter. The doing does!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Ah, the road of life is never smooth! Especially, considering each of us involved in the organization have survived cancer. And it’s important to note that a person becomes a survivor at diagnosis as THAT’S the moment you begin surviving cancer.

Consequently, in addition to the typical challenges of growing a non-profit (and we are a recognized 501c3), our volunteers and stake holders are in various stages of survivorship. That includes those who have no evidence of disease as well as those who are still in treatment (and some who will ALWAYS be in treatment).

Throughout the course of the medical advances in cancer treatment, it is only in the last decade that psycho-social issues are truly being recognized. Everything from depression and PTSD to distress over self-image and lack of intimacy falls into that basket. However, the medical community is at a loss for how to best treat these issues and who will cover costs.

No one, and I mean NO ONE, knows better what survivors need than other survivors. And the growing research supporting the health (mental and physical) values of volunteering makes our work unique and necessary. We’re survivors helping survivors take their lives back by creating 2nd Acts. We guide them to discover what their skills, passions AND their cancer uniquely qualify each of them to do. And, we teach them how to get started.

We are small but driven. We are constrained only by our pennies in the bank. With financial infusion from generous donors and grantors, we can change the landscape for the eight million women cancer survivors in this country (500,000 of them right here in the Valley of the Sun).

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Our work includes, fundraising signature stage performances, “S.T.A.R.S!: Survivors Take A Real Stage,” with casts of 8 women survivors sharing their 2nd Act stories with audiences in excess of 200 each time.

Our book, A 2nd Act: Cancer Survivors Changing the Question from “Why Me?” to “What’s Next?,” an ever-growing collection of the stories heard on our stages.

A 2nd Act workshops, offered free of charge to women survivors to help them discover their own 2nd Acts. Each workshop includes a workbook and other materials, all delivered in a custom tote bag.

Girls Night Out events, get togethers for women survivors to mingle, have fun and nurture one another.

Micro Grants to area women survivors ready to launch their 2nd Acts but are in need of a little seed money. Our grant application is open June 1 to July 31 each year.

We are not a support group – we are women survivors helping other women survivors take their lives back after cancer!

What were you like growing up?
I always wanted to be a writer. To that end, I used to sit on a branch in a maple tree in my parent’s backyard and write poems and short stories. A college degree and several reinventions later, I am a published author with three books and gazillions of newspaper, magazine and online articles bearing my name.

Growing up with a driven and successful father, and a gentle and compassionate mother, I feel I was blessed with a combination of both their personalities. I’ve always been a bit of a tomboy (my mom was!) and pretty fearless (my father was a big game hunter!).

I fell in love with the French language when I was 12, majored in it in college (even spending a year in France going to French university) and teaching at the high school level. I’ve been to the country more than a dozen times and never tire of the opportunity to return.

Some families pass on a gene for red hair or a gene for being tall. Our family shares the humor gene. It has sustained me through many occasions.

So in sum, I am a driven, compassionate, humorous French-speaking writer, who happens to have survived cancer and created a truly meaningful non-profit!

Contact Info:

• Website: A2ndAct.org
• Phone: 833) 226-3228
• Email: info@A2ndAct.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/A2ndAct

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.