"The healing is [in] knowing who you were, not what you might be." -Lucy
Lucy’s Love Bus was co-founded by Beecher Grogan and her 11-year-old daughter Lucy, who was diagnosed with the adult form of leukemia in July of 2002. During four years of cancer treatment, Lucy found relief from intense pain and anxiety through integrative therapies such as massage, Reiki, meditation, acupuncture, music therapy, and therapeutic horseback riding. Lucy was distressed to learn that integrative therapies were not covered by insurance, and were therefore not accessible to her friends in the hospital. She decided that when she was “done” with cancer, she would make sure that children with cancer could have access to free integrative therapies to manage the debilitating side effects of traditional cancer treatments. Unfortunately, Lucy did not survive her ordeal with cancer, but her beautiful dream did.
Lucy named the organization Lucy’s Love Bus because she wanted to deliver love, comfort, and quality of life to children with cancer. She felt that funding for cures was very important, but recognized that no one was addressing the immediate suffering that she and her friends endured every day. Lucy's primary concern was to deliver comfort... until a cure. Lucy passed away only six months later, but her legacy of care and compassion lives on through Lucy's Love Bus.
In 2010 Beecher and her surviving children, Willow and Eli, met with Lucy and Willow’s friends to ask if the kids wanted to help make Lucy’s vision for sick children a reality. The teens were excited to help make Lucy’s dream come true, and called themselves “Lucy’s Teen Leaders”- working tirelessly to plan the first ever fundraising event for Lucy’s Love Bus. The 2010 Fly-Away Festival was a tremendous success and allowed Love Bus to start delivering services to children with cancer on a much bigger scale.
Over the years, Beecher and the Board of Directors worked to keep Lucy’s vision at the heart of the organization as programs evolved to support children with cancer at home, in hospice, and in hospital-based programs. In 2022, the Sajni’s Siblings and Ilene’s Caregivers programs were introduced to complete the circle of care.
In June of 2022, Beecher stepped down from the position of Executive Director and handed the reins over to longtime Love Bus employee, Jackie Walker. Beecher then focused her efforts on launching the Ilene’s Caregivers Program and ran the program for 18 months before leaving the organization in February of 2024 to start a business called Bittersweet End-of-Life Doula Care, doing animal-assisted end-of-life doula work with children and adults.
While we don't transport patients, or deliver services to their doorstep, there in fact a "Love Bus" to represent our organization. Our Love Bus is a 1970 Volkswagen Westfalia Bus that is enjoying retirement in Maine.
