Hopebox Theatre, a local nonprofit, is using performance art to support members of its community as they battle cancer.
Jan Williams, Hopebox co-founder, said the idea for the nonprofit came to her while she was being treated for cancer.
Williams is a four-time cancer survivor. Her third round of treatment was especially difficult, and what happened changed her life forever, she said.
A group of Williams' theater students came to her doorstep to sing some of her favorite Broadway songs. After they left, she realized they had helped her forget about what she was battling for just a moment, she said. The incident inspired her to start Hopebox Theatre, which has now been operating in Kaysville for ten years.
Hopebox Theatre collects donations for cancer patients at each show. All of the donations go directly to the patients and their families, Becca Rhodes, the theatre's Wall of Hope Director, said.
"A portion of our ticket sales goes to the family — the Wall of Hope recipient and their family. But also, while our patrons are at our show, they can donate whatever amount they want to," Rhodes said.
Patrons can donate to the featured cancer patient and their family in a variety of ways.
"They can donate through our concessions stand, there's a hope box in the lobby that they can put cash in, they can scan a Venmo code that takes them to a Venmo account," Rhodes said.
Every Wall of Hope recipient gets to climb a ladder and place a plaque with their name on it on the Recipient Wall at the theatre, Rhodes said.
"It's so cool to see just — physically, tangibly — the full circle of love and reward that comes out of it, just by a group of humans coming together and saying, 'We're going to do this together, we're in this mission together,'" Rhodes said. "'We're going support this person, we're going to love them, we're going to bring them hope.'"
Williams calls the nonprofit "a tiny theater doing really big things," she said.