Owners of boutique in Ross, South Hills donate sweaters to honor loved one’s memory
When Julie Durbin was undergoing cancer treatment, she was always cold.
She would bring a cardigan, a sweater that opens in the front and comes in various lengths, to her appointments.
“Cardigans added a layer of warmth and comfort and protection for her,” said her sister Dione O’Dell. “She was tiny, and the cardigan was also sort of a blanket for her.”
Providing such warmth, comfort and protection to others is the mission of Cardigans for a Cause, a project of donating the sweaters to cancer patients in Durbin’s memory.
When O’Dell and her daughter Kaleigh O’Dell thought about a way to honor Durbin, who passed away from cancer in November 2020, they immediately thought of a cardigan.
Dione and her Kaleigh had the perfect connection to do just that through their passion for fashion. Dione was a vice president of marketing for a specialty teen retailer ,and her daughter knows style.
As co-owners of The Gardenia Branch, a women’s clothing and accessories boutique that has locations in Ross Park Mall and South Hills Village, the mother-daughter team created the “butterfly cardigan” because Durbin loved butterflies. She also loved hugging everyone.
“The cardigan is like a cocoon to wrap around your body as it goes through a transformation, just like a butterfly, for those going through cancer treatment to be free from pain and to heal,” said Dione O’Dell. “They are super comfortable. We want the patients to know they are being hugged and loved by the cardigan. This is a way to honor my sister’s legacy of love, and this has been healing for our family to do this and have an impact.”
The impact has amounted to 800 cardigans total being donated over the past four years to women battling breast cancer at the Glimmer of Hope Metastatic Breast Cancer Center at the Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute at Allegheny General Hospital on Pittsburgh’s North Side.
Each fall on Oct. 10 at 10 a.m., The Gardenia Branch runs a campaign in which, for every cardigan sold, another is donated. The O’Dells change up the colors of the cardigans each year, and this year they had some with and without a hood in different lengths, but always with pockets because Durbin had to have pockets to carry what she needed during medical treatments.
“It is more than just a cardigan,” said Dr. Christie Hilton, director of Academic Breast Oncology and the Glimmer of Hope Metastatic Breast Cancer Clinic, Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute. “It is such a beautiful gift to give to patients.”
The mother and daughter enclose a personalized note of encouragement and love.
Dione O’Dell and Durbin spent a lot of time together while she was going through treatments. O’Dell contacted Diana Napper, founder of A Glimmer of Hope Foundation, a Western Pennsylvania-based breast cancer organization funding innovative programs, research and technology, about the cardigan donations.
Every time she sells a cardigan, Dione said she gets emotional remembering her sister, who died earlier in the month before the boutique was to open.
The Gardenia Branch donated 200 cozy cardigans to patients at Allegheny General Hospital in the Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute on Dec. 2. The store name comes from Dione O’Dell’s favorite flower. She said they chose a flower because their grandmother loved flowers and no two flowers are alike. Every flower brings beauty to life, Dione said.
Hilton said when she gives sweaters to patients, they love it and some of them cry. The donation is usually done on or around Giving Tuesday.
“This is a blessing, to be able to do this for women,” Dione O’Dell said. “They have sent us cards and letters and called us. They are so appreciative. It is not just a layer of warmth. It’s a layer of love.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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