Thousands of Butterflies Released Bringing Hope to Kids With Cancer

2000 people gathered this month in Massachusetts to release almost two thousand butterflies in honor an 8-year-old who died of cancer. The event raised money for the children’s charity founded by Lucy Grogan months before she died, hoping to bestow the benefits of holistic  alternative therapies on other kids with cancer.

The brainchild of Lucy’s mother, Beecher, the first annual Fly-Away Festival drew teens and local leaders in support of the non-profit organization Lucy called, Lucy’s Love Bus.

The concept of a “Love Bus” started with a conversation between Lucy and her mom in the hospital. Lucy was aware that not all children with cancer were able to benefit from some of the treatments that she was receiving, such as acupuncture and raiki. It was Lucy’s desire to help provide her friends in the hospital with these and other integrated therapies. Beecher Grogan took this seed of an idea and formed it into a blossoming fully-fledged charity that is benefiting many children.
Along with pony rides, live music, and a plethora of butterflies, the group cheered a recent proclamation by the local mayor that September 12th will be forever known as Lucy’s Love Bus Day.

Teens helping with the Fly-Away Festival donned brightly colored tie-dyed butterfly shirts. Members of the freshman football team wore fake eyelashes and gave away “butterfly kisses”. Kids from the Sparhawk School that Lucy Grogan attended for a time, set up a wind sculpture on the hill. Paper butterflies swayed in the wind marking the names of people that have passed away. For $15 a real butterfly was purchased to be released on the day in the name of loved one.

Nathan Osmond the country singer and nephew of Donny and Marie Osmond, performed an original song appropriately called “Lucy’s Song”. The song, scheduled for release this week, features the lyrics of a poem Mrs. Grogan wrote for her daughter after her death. Osmond’s performance left not a dry eye among those gathered on the Woodsom farm in Amesbury where the event progressed.

Carrying the torch of Lucy’s dream was Miranda Berry from Orange, Mass, who mounted the stage to tell an inspiring story about her own encounter with a butterfly that held the audience breathless. Miranda is one of the many children who have been helped in dealing with her cancer treatments by Lucy’s Love Bus foundation.

The culmination of the day was the actual release more than one thousand monarch butterflies above the crowd. They took flight with hopes and dreams of cancer patients on their wings, a spark of healing from Lucy’s Love Bus.

WATCH the video below, and visit www.lucyslovebus.org for more info, or to donate…