Becca Gladden was a beloved member of the Beads of Courage team for over 16 years. She supported the mission in many ways and was instrumental in growing the mission of Beads of Courage. Her sweet voice was a source of reassurance for our staff during many moments of challenge and celebration.
She worked tirelessly for our organization and was a creative genius writing and submitting grants, creating clever marketing programs and writing about our mission for over 16 years.
While managing our grants programs she wrote and submitted over 100 grants with awards that sustained our mission over her tenure. Her first grant she wrote was in 2010 and she proceeded to call Jean, our founder, and said, “you don’t know me, but I have been following your work and just got Beads of Courage a $10,000 grant from the Jimmie Johnson Foundation (NASCAR).”
From that day forward, Becca and Jean became kindred sisters, both nurses, and co-created a number of creative initiatives that both sustained Beads of Courage and raised awareness for our mission.
Becca loved so many people and had a natural ability to pull them towards our mission. She grew our social media platforms when Facebook was just beginning to now over 72,000 followers. She lovingly cared for bead families and members through private messages that she answered for many years with her nurse’s heart.
“Remember…your imagination can take you anywhere.” A beautiful and inspiring quote that Becca wrote that is a lasting source of inspiration for our bead family as it connects to our very own Beads in Space Program.
Becca had many passions and was incredibly knowledgeable about so much in this world. Prior to working for Beads of Courage she was at the Challenger Space Center. We were fortunate to have her join our team when Beads of Courage was honored by NASA with beads flown to commemorate our mission on two space missions – STS-132 and STS-134. Becca masterfully managed the communications around this exciting and historical time for our organization that included multiple press releases and stories to celebrate the artists who had beads aboard Atlantis or the Endeavour space shuttles.
Funds raised through the Becca Gladden memorial fund will be used to support our Beads in Space Program. This will include:
- Resurrecting and creating a permanent installation of our Beads in Space exhibit that traveled to over 25 children’s hospitals in 2010-2011 at our international headquarters in Tucson, AZ.
- Reprinting the Beads in Space poster to distribute to children and teens to take delight in the visual artistry of the beads that went to space.
- Distributing our Shuttle “DREAM” art activity that includes a shuttle bead bracelet making kit.
- Creating a planet art coloring card kit with fun facts about all the planets packaged with a new Beads of Courage bead to be given to hospitalized children during the annual National Space Week (held in October every year).
Her creative contributions will be a legacy gift as they continue to inspire the children and families we care for at Beads of Courage – they are everywhere infused with her love and creative genius.
We will be honoring her at Beads of Courage as both a Warrior for Brave Kids and in our Clinicians Hall of Fame that we will be revealing at our festival in February of 2027. Please plan to visit us to share in this celebration of her life.
Thank you for honoring the life of Becca Gladden and all that she created and contributed to move the mission of Beads of Courage to new heights. She was a remarkable woman and we will continue to share her creative contributions with those that touch our mission for years to come.
