Seventeen-year-old Londyn Collin asked herself what she could do to help City of Hope’s Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) support programs.
“Going through chemotherapy and being in a hospital must be a whole struggle by itself. So we were thinking about ways we reach out to them. What sort of gifts would they like? And it all just kind of came back to, well, what do we like? What would we want to get as presents?”
The answer: makeup from Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, socks and beanies from Lululemon, Gwen Stefani products donated by the Blended Strategy Group agency and products donated by celebrity makeup artist Denika Bedrossian.
“Just stuff that, like, normal teenage kids would enjoy,” said Londyn’s friend Ella Morey, also 17. “Teenagers are kind of in a weird in-between space where they're left out of a lot of things designed specifically for children and then also not quite at the point where they're wanting to be part of the things designed for adult women. And so they kind of get stuck or left out sometimes.”
The Hope Brigade began as a school project in 2021 and grew into a nonprofit now run by Londyn, Ella and their siblings, Presley Collin and Dylan Morey. They have the example of two parents who have been City of Hope® supporters through the Music, Film and Entertainment Industry (MFEI) Group. Londyn’s mother is Kristin Collin, who has served on MFEI’s Future Hope committee, and Ella’s father is Jason Morey, who has been a longtime member of MFEI’s executive board. Morey is president and Collin is vice president of the Morey Management Group in the entertainment industry. Their father, Jim Morey, founded the business and is a longtime supporter of City of Hope.
Londyn said, “Having family so dedicated to this cause not only makes my efforts in the Hope Brigade more personal, but it also creates an inevitable passion to continue helping City of Hope and their amazing accomplishments.”
In 2023, the teens packed and delivered 50 boxes of personal care products to City of Hope’s Farouk Shami Positive Image Center in Duarte, California.
Cassie Polchow, senior cosmetology oncology specialist at the center, said, “We have had an amazing response from our AYA patients that received the boxes. One patient was admitted unexpectedly and didn’t have anything with them. I brought her a box which had a toothbrush and toothpaste, a brand new Lululemon beanie, sweats and socks, and a bunch of makeup products. She was so thankful and grateful for the donation. It really made her feel at ease.”
Londyn is president of the nonprofit, and Ella is vice president. They do the outreach to get products donated for the gift boxes and raise money through school events and a crowdfunding link on their website. The Hope Brigade’s Instagram and TikTok accounts have gathered a community of AYA cancer patients.
“We've had a lot of feedback and DMs of people reaching out to us, which is so, so great,” Londyn said. “We also 'like' our recommended-for-you page the people who have spoken out about their cancer experience. We like to reach out to them and send them boxes, too, just because why not? We have the resources, and it's just nice to expand our outreach.”
In the future, Londyn and Ella hope to add products from other companies and to ask celebrities to contribute positive notes to the patients.
“I would love to get more celebrity brands to donate. That would be like an amazing goal for us,” Londyn said. “The more donations we get, the more that we can provide in the boxes!”
