a battle with cancer gives life to a startup

See Lee's story on the Yahoo! news progam, Driven, this show travels across the country to find the "must meet" small business owners and job creators in America. They share with us their inspiring stories, telling us how they overcame obstacles to translate their dreams and passions into a successful company.
Lee Rhodes was just 32 when she was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer, a nightmare for anyone but a particularly grim diagnosis for a mother of three small children. After a long, hard battle and many rounds of grueling chemotherapy, Rhodes not only beat cancer but came up with a dream of helping other cancer patients.
The dream began from Rhodes' sick bed, moved to the garage of her Seattle home and has since evolved into a successful business called glassybaby.
A truly unique and inspiring enterprise, glassybaby not only employs scores of artisans in Seattle -- over 50 glassblowers at last count -- but also gives a big portion of its revenue to cancer-related charities, over $850,000 and counting.

Sometimes we plan road shows to see sites we've never seen or taste food we've never eaten, but our favorite way to plan a road show is to visit the people we love and who love us back.
glassybaby Road Show 101
1. We pack up hundreds of glassybaby into "debbie" (our nickname for the glassybaby van), drive to your town, meet you and yours, and become best friends.
2. Unload debbie and throw a party... at your house, your barn, a restaurant, your club, or local event space. Think tables filled with glassybaby aglow as you mingle with your friends enjoying sweet background music and videos of our very own glassblowers making glassybaby by hand in our Seattle studio.
3. Party goers then get to choose from hundreds of glassybaby and 10% of the night's sales go back to the charity of your choice.
4. As the evening winds down, we clean up, pack debbie, hug goodbye, you promise to visit us in Seattle and we thank you endlessly for the chocolate and potato chips you graciously give us for the road trip home.
Sound fun? Email us at roadshows@glassybaby.com and let us know why we should come to your town and how we can make a difference by giving back to a cause that is near and dear to your heart.
See you on the road!
xo glassybaby
glassybaby 'joy' at the Snake River Grill in Jackson, Wyoming.

Shop the glassybaby collection at Body Vox Arts. 10% of sales from this event will be donated to the Nick Wilson Charitible Group.
Friday, February 10 6-9 pm
Body Vox Arts Commons
1255 NW 17th Ave
Portland, WA 97209
More information on Nick Wilson Charitible Group here.

Come shop the glassybaby collection at Des Voigne Cellars. 10% of sales from this event will be donated to the Cancer Care Alliance.
Saturday, February 11 1-5 pm
Sunday, February 12 1-4 pm
Des Voigne Cellars
19501 144th Ave NE #B500
Woodinville, Wa 98072