RICHMOND, Va. -- For Donna Hill, it's more than just a chair.
"It's just beautiful," Hill said.
She's seeing her finished painted product for the first time. it's a chair that she and three other women painted for cancer survivors and their families.
"I'm hoping and praying that the people that sit in this chair know how much we care," Hill said.
Hill and her painting partners, who call themselves the Sassy Survivors, all battled cancer.
Hill was diagnosed with leukemia in 2018.
The Sassy Survivors were part of a Women and Wellness event back in the Spring where they paid tribute to Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center's 'No more empty chairs' campaign.
Small groups painted words of encouragement for those fighting their toughest battle.
"When these patients, whether they be at VCU, sit in these chairs may they feel that invisible hug, somebody understands, somebody cares, somebody loves me and somebody cares what I'm going through," Hill said.
For inspiration for their chair, Donna and her team channeled Endorphasm's Erica Porter.
"She's a ball of energy. When we're doing exercises she always says, 'You can do it,'' Hill said.
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And that's the message the Sassy Survivors wanted to convey.
"We were really surprised to see shapes like flowers and sunshine and we also saw statements," Cindy Paullin, of Art for the Journey, said. "I think the people who were doing these chairs were bringing their own experience. They were also knowing they were going to be doing something to help another person."
The chair painting project is just one educational event through Women and Wellness.
For 28 years, Women and Wellness has raised $5 million for cancer research at Massey.
Their signature event is the luncheon at the Jefferson Hotel.
This year's keynote speaker is Elizabeth Gilbert best known for her 2006 memoir "Eat, Pray, Love."
Gilbert will share her story of being a caregiver.
It's something to which Hill can relate.
She is caring for her husband who's battling Parkinson's disease.
As both a caregiver and a survivor, Hill knows what a simple act of kindness can mean.
"It doesn't matter their age or kind of cancer. Everybody needs to feel that love and that hope," Hill said.
The painted chairs will be placed throughout Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The Women and Wellness luncheon will be on Tuesday, February 6 at the Jefferson.
The event is sold out, but there is a wait list. Click here to find out more information Women & Wellness.
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