Product Description

Who & What Team #deMANDAcure is:

Team #deMANDAcure is the family and friends of Amanda Shay (Odom) Wilkins. Amanda was born and raised in Calvert County. She was a mother, Registered Nurse, and military wife with a kind heart. Amanda was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018. She was a fighter. She underwent surgery and treatments, but it was a very aggressive form of cancer and Amanda passed June 11, 2019.

When Amanda was in the hospital receiving treatments, she wanted a resource to help her explain cancer to her young daughter, Madison. The hospital only had three book options and she was told they would have to return the books. Amanda did not like that option so, laying in her hospital bed, she created a Facebook post asking friends and family to buy and donate these special books to the hospital so other families struggling with similar circumstances would have this valuable resource. In that moment the book legacy began. We now donate books to hospitals and oncology offices across the nation. As her family and friends, we want the legacy to continue to grow and “pay it forward” to others, just like Amanda always wanted to do.

With Amanda’s passing, the family decided to channel the huge amount of grief into continuing her legacy with the idea of the #deMANDAcure holiday raffle. Each year, local businesses, vendors, friends and family have so graciously donated items to the raffle and one person wins the “Ultimate Holiday Prize.” This year, the team has expanded the raffle to include multiple winners.

All raffle proceeds go to the Amanda Shay (Odom) Wilkins Memorial Nursing Scholarship Fund which is awarded to nursing students from both the Calvert County Career and Technology Academy and Shepherd University, Amanda’s alma-maters.

Amanda wanted to be a nurse since birth, it was not an easy road for her- but she did it. Our scholarship applicants each submit an essay on why they want to be a nurse. The team has the difficult task of choosing winners based on their passion and compassion in their journey to be a successful nurse. Our hope is that each year, we can raise more money so that the scholarship can help more students offset the costs for such an important career path.

This year, as we enter our third year, Team #deMANDAcure has decided to grow the raffle into a bigger event, and this idea has become the Magnolia Market.

Why are we doing this Magnolia Market:

Amanda loved every fall festival in the state of Maryland. If it included a hayride, pumpkin spice or flowers, she was there. As a small-town girl and military wife, she also understood the importance of community and loved to shop and support small local businesses.

Therefore, looking towards the future, the team has partnered with Serenity Farms and are inviting all local crafters, artists, vintage, up cyclers, and direct sales vendors to come out and showcase their products in a community market that supports buying local, family, and continuing to raise awareness to a cause so close to our hearts.

All proceeds raised by #deMANDAcure from the Magnolia Market will go to the Amanda Shay (Odom) Wilkins Memorial Nursing Scholarship Fund. If you have any questions, please feel free to email DemandacureAWS@gmail.com or visit our Facebook group page https://www.facebook.com/groups/demandacure