2026 NCSD - Part I

THANK YOU to ALL for Making the 2026 National Cancer Survivors Day Celebration at the Christopher Farm & Gardens an Amazing Day!

(Photos submitted by Robyn Jacobchik)

I have attended this National Cancer Survivors Day celebration every year since 1993. If, over those years, you would have asked me which was my favorite event… my answer would be, “The most recent!” That is especially true this year!

Survive, Thrive & Be Fit (ST&BF) enjoyed our very first visit to the Christopher Farm & Gardens (CF&G) on May 17, 2017 which means we are approaching our ten-year anniversary! We will spend the next year in

A – N – T – I – C – I – P – A – T – I – O – N

of of that TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY

and we will follow that with another year of

C – E – L – E – B – R – A – T – I – O – N,

making it a

TWO YEAR CELEBRATION OF OUR TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Why? Well… Erika Lusthoff, Executive Director of the Christopher Farm & Gardens so perfectly and eloquently provided an answer during her remarks which I am honored to share with you here:

THIS IS A MUST READ - whether you attended the NCSD event or not!

As Executive Director of Christopher Farm & Gardens, I have had the privilege of watching something remarkable unfold over the last ten years. What began as a partnership between Survive Thrive and Be Fit and Christopher Farm & Gardens has become something much deeper – a relationship rooted in healing, hope, friendship, and community.

When I think about why this partnership matters, I think about nature.

Nature has always been one of our greatest teachers. It teaches us patience when a seed takes time to sprout. It teaches resilience when a garden recovers after a storm. And it teaches hope—perhaps its most important lesson of all.

Hope is not just wishful thinking. Hope is the belief that tomorrow can be different than today. It is the courage to keep growing even when life feels uncertain. And nature demonstrates that lesson every single day.

A garden never gives up on spring.

Even after the harshest winter, the earth finds a way to bloom again.

For those navigating cancer, caregiving, recovery, or simply life's challenges, that lesson matters. Nature reminds us that healing is rarely linear. Growth happens beneath the surface long before we can see it. Sometimes the most important work is happening underground, in places invisible to everyone else.

And that is why spending time outdoors can be so powerful for our mental health.

Research continues to show what many of us already know in our hearts: being in nature reduces stress, lowers anxiety, improves mood, and restores a sense of calm. When we step outside, we give ourselves permission to breathe a little deeper. We quiet the noise. We reconnect with something larger than ourselves.

Nature doesn't ask us to be anything other than who we are in that moment.

It simply welcomes us.

And perhaps one of the greatest gifts nature offers is the reminder that we are never truly alone.

When you walk through a garden, you quickly realize that nothing grows in isolation. Trees share nutrients through underground networks. Pollinators move from flower to flower creating life and abundance. Birds, insects, plants, soil, water, and sunlight all work together in a delicate and beautiful partnership.

The same is true for us.

None of us were meant to walk difficult journeys alone.

The support we find in family, friends, caregivers, fellow survivors, and groups like Survive Thrive and Be Fit becomes part of our own ecosystem of healing. We draw strength from one another. We share burdens. We celebrate victories. We remind each other that even on the hardest days, we belong.

Connection is not simply a nice addition to life – it is essential.

Every conversation, every walk through the gardens, every shared story creates a thread that strengthens our community.

And that brings me to something very close to my heart.

As our founder, Jay Christopher, has often said, the gardens were never intended to be simply a beautiful place. They were meant to be a place of purpose – a place where people connect, heal, learn, and grow together.

"The partnership between Survive Thrive and Be Fit and the Sheboygan County Cancer Care Fund and Christopher Farm & Gardens is a foundational stone in our greater purpose of being a garden for good. A garden where nature grows and nurtures all of us. Jay has often expressed to me the importance of connecting the community and the gardens in meaningful ways. Watching STBF grow at CFG is meeting our mission and vision with meaningful intention—that you are all a part of."

Those words capture exactly what we have witnessed over these last ten years.

You have filled these spaces with courage, laughter, friendship, vulnerability, determination, and hope. You have shown us that healing happens not only through medicine, but also through movement, conversation, connection, and time spent surrounded by beauty.

And beauty matters.

One of the greatest skills we can develop in life is the ability to notice beauty in ordinary moments.

A flower opening in the morning sun.

The sound of birds after a rainstorm.

A friend walking beside us.

A shared smile.

A moment of peace.

But seeing beauty is not always easy. It requires us to believe that beauty is there to be found. In many ways, the ability to recognize beauty is rooted in hope.

Hope helps us look up.

Hope helps us notice.

Hope helps us see possibility where others see only difficulty.

And nature trains us in that skill every day.

So as we celebrate this partnership and the incredible community that has grown through it, my wish for all of you is simple:

May you continue to find healing in nature.

May you continue to find strength in one another.

May you continue to discover beauty in everyday moments.

And may you always remember that, just like the gardens themselves, you are part of something larger—a community that grows together, supports one another, and never leaves anyone to walk alone.

Thank you for allowing Christopher Farm & Gardens to be part of your journey these past ten years. We are grateful for every step, every story, and every season we have shared together.

And we look forward to many more years of growing, healing, and thriving together.

Thank you.

PLEASE JOIN ME IN OFFERING HEARTFELT GRATITUDE to Mr. Jay Christopher, Erika, Rob, Robyn, and the ENTIRE CF&G Staff for ALL THAT THEY DO for our Local Cancer Community… Including:

• 87 Group Visits (so far) since May 17, 2017: Wandering the Wonderful Gardens, Bonding Bonfires, Restoration Projects, Daisy Days, Project Tweety B.I.R.D. Bluebird Trail, Jay W. Christopher Transportation Museum visits, special events, tours, nature art, unique experiences, learning opportunities, & more!
• 7 National Cancer Survivors Day Celebrations (every year since 2000)!
• The Opportunity to Create the “Hope Grows Here” Secret Garden (contact Tim to make sure you don’t miss out on opportunities to help grow this space)!
• Plus the on-going support and encouragement!

But Remember: One Day A Year Is Simply Not Enough to Celebrate Survivorship… And It Doesn’t Have to Be!

As one who has attended this NCSD event every year since 1993 and one who has been involved in the planning and organizing of this NCSD celebration since starting this work in 2000, I LOVE THIS ONE DAY A YEAR! If I had any criticisms about it, it would simply be that it is ONLY one day a year… and one day a year is not enough to Celebrate Survivorship! As such, it has been my focus to offer many ways to Celebrate Survivorship in our Local Cancer Community throughout the year!

Similarly, as wonderful as it is to come together every year on the first Sunday in June at the CF&G to celebrate NCSD (since 2000), I am thrilled to say, there are many more opportunities to experience “Nature’s Healing Ways” (and all of the other things that Erika referenced above) at the Christopher Farm & Gardens throughout the year:

• Casually “Wander the Wonderful Gardens” and sit around a “Bonding Bonfire” (see details for Monday, June 29^th).
• Experience some Dirt Therapy with “Daisy Days” (I noticed some oxe-eye daisies popping up in the Daisy Field).
• Participate in “Project Tweety B.I.R.D.” Bluebird Trail (March through September).
• Get involved in the “Hope Grows Here” Secret Garden.
• Enjoy our “Family Fun Fest” (later this summer).
• Learn About the Jay W. Christopher Transportation Museum (watch for details).
• Watch for next year’s “Restoration Project” (spring, 2027).
• And lots more (stuff we are planning and stuff that will simply happen).

Watch this Local Cancer Community Update for details!

As one who has attended this NCSD event every year since 1993 and one who has been involved in the planning and organizing of this NCSD celebration since starting this work in 2000, I LOVE THIS ONE DAY A YEAR! If I had any criticisms about it, it would simply be that it is ONLY one day a year… and one day a year is not enough to Celebrate Survivorship! As such, it has been my focus to offer many ways to Celebrate Survivorship in our Local Cancer Community throughout the year!

Similarly, as wonderful as it is to come together every year on the first Sunday in June at the CF&G to celebrate NCSD (since 2000), I am thrilled to say, there are many more opportunities to experience “Nature’s Healing Ways” (and all of the other things that Erika referenced above) at the Christopher Farm & Gardens throughout the year:

• Casually “Wander the Wonderful Gardens” and sit around a “Bonding Bonfire” (see details for Monday, June 29^th).
• Experience some Dirt Therapy with “Daisy Days” (I noticed some oxe-eye daisies popping up in the Daisy Field).
• Participate in “Project Tweety B.I.R.D.” Bluebird Trail (March through September).
• Get involved in the “Hope Grows Here” Secret Garden.
• Enjoy our “Family Fun Fest” (later this summer).
• Learn About the Jay W. Christopher Transportation Museum (watch for details).
• Watch for next year’s “Restoration Project” (spring, 2027).
• And lots more (stuff we are planning and stuff that will simply happen)