Our Story

RIBBNZ was built from lived experience — not just one moment, but a series of moments that changed how I saw awareness, support, and what it truly means to show up for the people you love.

My journey began with my family.

I supported my mother through her battle with bilateral triple-negative breast cancer, and my grandmother through advanced-stage small cell lung cancer. My grandmother was a true fighter — the kind of woman who refused to quit. We rang the bell together three times — twice after chemotherapy and once after she completed radiation.

Each time, it felt like victory.
Like faith. Like resilience. Like love.

Even though her story ended differently than we prayed for, her courage never left me.

After losing her, I carried that experience with me — and it became part of how I saw the world. Not long after, I wrote my children’s book, She Beeps, and That’s OK !, inspired by my own journey living with Type 1 Diabetes and the importance of helping others feel seen and understood.

As I continued showing up for the people and causes I loved, I began participating in awareness walks.

I first walked for breast cancer — and the experience was powerful. It was vibrant, highly visible, and full of strong representation. There was a sense of celebration, unity, and pride you could feel the moment you arrived.

Then I walked in a Juvenile Diabetes-T1D event with my team.

We raised money, showed up together, and wore matching shirts I designed based on the Dana character from my book — something personal, something meaningful, something that represented us.

But I noticed the difference immediately.

While the support was there, the overall experience wasn’t as visible or as festive. The representation didn’t feel as strong.

And that didn’t sit right with me.

Because every cause deserves to feel seen.
Every story deserves to be honored.
And every person showing up deserves to feel like they belong.

That’s where the idea for RIBBNZ began.

I wanted to create something that brought everything together — a way for people, families, and teams to show up united, intentional, and proud.

But the idea didn’t stop there.

Shortly after that same T1D walk, the son of a family friend was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. He was only 10 years old, and I couldn’t stop thinking about him — because I knew exactly what that moment felt like.

Being the only one in your family navigating something no one else fully understands.

The constant monitoring.
The changes in routine.
The weight of it all.

It’s a lot — especially for a child.

I wanted him to feel supported. Not different. Not alone.

So I created a kit for him — filled with some of my favorite sugar-free items, a teddy bear for comfort, a T1D medical alert bracelet, a small toy, a copy of my book She Beeps, and That’s OK, and a custom version of the team shirt we wore in that walk, personalized with his name.

Something simple… but meaningful.

Not long after, someone who purchased my book shared that another child had just been diagnosed, and asked if I could create a kit for her as well.

I did.

And that’s when it clicked.

These kits weren’t just thoughtful gestures — they were needed.

At the same time, everything I had experienced supporting my mother and grandmother made something even clearer — that different journeys require different kinds of support, but the need to feel seen, supported, and connected never changes.

That’s when the vision expanded.

Through awareness ribbon colors, different causes, and different life experiences, these kits could grow to support people across all journeys — not just one.

Because no child — and no family — should feel like they’re facing this alone.

RIBBNZ exists to bring that same feeling to every cause, every stage, and every story.

To make awareness more visible.
More unified.
More meaningful.

For the fighters.
The survivors.
The supporters.
And the legacies we carry forward.

Purpose in motion. Always together.