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Rustin Senior Designs Thank You Card for Unite for HER
Rustin Senior Designs Thank You Card for Unite for HER
Unite for HER thank you card designed by Celia Armstrong
Student commitment to charity runs deep throughout the West Chester Area School District. For some students, that commitment reflects a more personal connection. Such is the case for Rustin High School senior Celia Armstrong, who recently designed a thank you card for Unite for HER.
Armstrong first learned about Unite for HER in 2014 when the Rustin Girls Tennis team hosted a "pink match" to raise funds and awareness for the Chester County-based organization. Five weeks after the event, her mother was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Armed with the knowledge she had learned about Unite for HER during the fundraiser, Armstrong was able to help her mother secure funding through the organization for therapies, such as acupuncture and massage, to help ease some of the side effects from her cancer treatments.
Armstrong was so taken with the organization that she helped jump-start the Student Unite for HER Ambassadors program at Rustin High School under the guidance of Unite for HER's founder Sue Wheldon. Alongside her peers, Armstrong works to raise money for the charity and shares her story at Unite for HER events, including the Pink Invitational, Harvest, and Bloom.
With the organization's annual Bloom event approaching, Armstrong and her family, who owns a printing company, wanted to find a way to contribute to the event, so they decided to create a thank you card.
"We wanted to create something beautiful that would capture the essence of the day while conveying a message of gratitude," said Armstrong. "This piece carries a dual purpose as a thank you from Unite for HER but also a set of thank you cards that may be used by the recipient. They are printed on a beautiful cotton Italian paper which reflects the texture of my original watercolor. My mother handled the art direction, my aunt handled the graphic design, and my father facilitated the printing. It was truly a collaborative project."
The family donated 400 card sets that were given to attendees at the Unite for HER Bloom fashion show on Sunday, April 22 at Merion Golf Club.
The soon-to-be Rustin graduate will be attending Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts and Design to study Interior Architecture and Design. She has always had a love of art.
"I developed an interest in art early in my life through painting and drawing, but it was not until high school that fully pursued my interest in drawing and taking art classes. I’ve taken five art classes at Rustin and art history which helped me create my portfolio for college. My interest in art blossomed when I started taking drawing classes my junior of high school. During freshman and sophomore year I took photography classes that helped me with design principles to prepare me for my future in interior design. Collectively, each of these art classes that I have taken has allowed me to create a sophisticated portfolio that I will carry with me to college."
Unite for HER was founded in 2009. The organization helps bridge the gap between the medical and wellness community by giving women access to therapies that they would typically pay out of pocket for such as acupuncture, yoga, massage therapy, nutrition talks, and counseling sessions.
The organization has grown from helping 24 women through one hospital affiliation to helping nearly 1200 women and partnering with a total of 36 cancer centers and hospitals.
For more information, please visit www.uniteforher.org.