The idea for Here was borne out of a collaboration between Livestrong Foundation and Design Run Group (DRG). Livestrong has twenty-five years of experience bringing millions of survivors together to support each other while raising money and awareness. DRG has deep expertise in incubating socially-conscious healthcare startups. Together, they saw an opportunity to build a direct-to-consumer, software-enabled service that would help patients, caregivers and their extended network of supporters bridge the gaps between getting a cancer diagnosis and living a fulfilling life. Against this backdrop, Livestrong and DRG formed a partnership and assembled a team with deep personal and professional knowledge of the cancer journey. And thus, Here was established.
Even distribution of help and solutions to people, regardless of who they are or where they live
Addressing gaps in the social fabric at the local level that enables people to take action
Providing a range of ways to reinforce the virtuous cycle of giving and receiving in survivorship
The faster we connect people with cancer to the invaluable people, products, services in our network, the more we can address resource gaps in our communities and reduce overall inequity in access.
The larger our network becomes, the greater our impact will be in providing support and everyday solutions to those affected by cancer. More nodes and more connections deepen and broaden the impact for individuals and the community as a whole.
The more we enable giving and receiving within our network, the more we will realize a virtuous cycle of purposeful value creation that is both personally enriching and community-building.
When we achieve Equity, Community, and Circularity for all people with cancer, we will have built a resilient community that is not only prepared to deal with the disease, but that is also empowered to influence upstream interventions that can reduce overall cancer cases and severity downstream.
Carolyn is an award-winning technology executive and entrepreneur who has an extensive and diverse background. Teams she’s led have won international recognition for outstanding customer success and national awards for cutting edge work in HR. Several of her companies have won growth awards. Ms. Jenkins believes a culture of strategy, execution, and accountability can be achieved with servant and compassionate leadership. While CEO of Khorus software, Carolyn was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has first-hand experience in how challenging it is to balance a cancer journey with the demands of family and work. She began advocating for early detection and helping those with fewer resources while on that journey. Here is a mission driven endeavor for Carolyn. In her spare time, she mentors emerging leaders, advises startups, and volunteers with several local non-profits.
Before joining Here, Alex spent 20+ years at IDEO, a global design and innovation company. While a Senior Design Director there, he led and founded several software prototyping groups and spent years designing for patients and healthcare. Alex helped nurse his ex-wife back to health following her breast cancer diagnosis, and was at his mother’s side while in hospice care for pancreatic cancer. Before leaving IDEO, Alex focused on developing human-centered transportation options for cancer patients and others with chronic illnesses, and designing for the unique challenges facing women with ovarian cancer. A dedicated outdoorsman, Alex joined the Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit almost a decade ago as a way to give back to his community.
Before joining Here, Shea spent over a decade in the nonprofit sector, most recently at Eisenhower Fellowships, where she led and grew the organization's USA Programs to create social impact at the local and global level through transformative fellowship experiences. Diagnosed with breast cancer at 29 and with a metastatic recurrence at 32, Shea is passionate about improving health outcomes and wellness support in the cancer space. She is a Leadership Volunteer with Living Beyond Breast Cancer where she provides mentorship and peer support for women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, while remaining committed to continuous educational training about the disease, treatment options, and the impact cancer has on the individual. Shea is currently enrolled in a year-long program at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to learn how to improve the accessibility and equity of health and wellness resources.
From essential household services to emotional support, we help our clients—and their networks of friends and family—establish stability after a diagnosis by connecting them with the products and services they need most. We help our clients get started quickly by identifying the assistance they need and providing them with the tools to fundraise for continuous expenses.
Our long-term goal is to achieve meaningful impact within the cancer community. Along the way, we’ll assess our progress through continuous data aggregation and analysis as well as qualitative storytelling. Our partners both contribute to and gain access to these stories of platform-level impact, service category impact, and partner-specific data and insights.
After a diagnosis, friends and family are typically quick to help. But these offers are limited and episodic, like a few free cleanings or a “meal train” that trails off. While cancer is often experienced as periods of acute crisis, survivorship is a long-term journey. Our partners have the opportunity to forge lasting relationships with clients, often resulting in ongoing service contracts.
People are motivated by meaningful engagement with and connection to a larger purpose. Aligning our partners’ businesses with Here’s mission to improve the lives of those affected with cancer can help employees feel connected to a greater community, while reminding them of the intrinsic value—and outsized impact—of their work.
Thanks to our relationship with Livestrong, we’ve seeded our trial service with a group of knowledgeable, empathetic, and committed Livestrong volunteer leaders who have served the survivor community for years, sometimes decades. They’ve made themselves available, ready to share a vast wealth of knowledge, advice, or an empathetic ear to patients and caregivers alike.
Thanks to our relationship with Livestrong, we’ve seeded our trial service with a group of knowledgeable, empathetic, and committed Livestrong volunteer leaders who have served the survivor community for years, sometimes decades. They’ve made themselves available, ready to share a vast wealth of knowledge, advice, or an empathetic ear to patients and caregivers alike.