When Grace Martin was young, she saw teachers and others in her life affected by cancer. Motivated to do something to help lift their spirits, she offered hand-painted shells with messages of prayer and encouragement.
Those acts of kindness later evolved into a clothing drive organized by Martin, which has grown each year and has yielded hundreds of bags of clothing for those in need.
And after Martin – now an 18-year-old senior at Camden Catholic High School, Cherry Hill – had her own battle with cancer last year, she has refocused her outreach efforts on supporting other children fighting cancer, and to support cancer research.
“I really want to help not just end cancer, but to try to help the people who are going through it, and who are in that spot where they are just miserable and scared and tired,” said Martin. “I know that what feels like.”
At the center of Martin’s lifelong drive to help others is her faith, and she sees her service activities as a way of paying forward the blessings in her life – and her way of “doing what God wants me to do.”
Early inspiration
It was at an early age when Grace Martin first found the drive to support others in their times of need. While she was a student at Saint Mary of the Lakes, Medford, a few of her teachers and their family members were diagnosed with cancer and undergoing treatment.
“We would all come together and pray,” she said, recalling in particular a substitute teacher and the husband of one of her other long-time teachers, who was very sick as he received treatment. “One day, I was just very moved. We were there with his wife, and I just felt like I wanted to do something to bring a little happiness to him.”
She took one of the clam shells she had brought back from a summer beach visit, and decorated it for him – with the word “hope” on the outside, and a message about bravery, strength and happiness on the inside.
She later learned that the beneficiary was so happy to receive it, that he kept it out on display.
“I was happy I could make somewhat of a difference for him,” she said.
Martin continued to provide these “Shells of Hope” to others undergoing treatment, as well.
Donations abound
In a recent interview, Martin shared an experience she had that following winter, while she was in the third grade. Reflecting on the frigid temperatures outside, she acknowledged how fortunate she was to have warm clothing and winter gear.
“I realized that I was really lucky that I had these things, and there must be people who don’t,” she said.
Grace enlisted the help of her parents – Kim and Bill – who helped her organize a clothing drive in her neighborhood, with donated clothing provided to a nonprofit that worked with a dozen centers to benefit those experiencing homelessness.
The effort went from collecting 30 bags, to nearly 200 each year – with more than 1,100 donated to date. In addition to clothing, the project has included the donation of toys, food and other essentials.
“Every year, it has grown and got more people involved,” Martin said, “and made the giving spirit of Christmas and the whole season very real and alive in the community.”
Counting her blessings
While her “Shells of Hope” initiative took the form of her large-scale annual clothing drive for a number of years, it would soon shift back toward supporting those battling cancer after her own experience in 2023.
After a series of terrible headaches and subsequent medical testing, Martin learned she had a brain tumor – and on her 17th birthday, she underwent brain surgery. While the operation was successful, the tumor was cancerous, and she went on to receive radiation treatment.
Even amidst such a difficult time in her own life, Martin couldn’t help but notice how many other young people – and children – at the hospital were suffering. She felt fortunate to have such a positive prognosis and wanted to do something to uplift the other children.
“I thought to myself, ‘Somebody needs to do something about this. Maybe that can be me.’”
With the help of her parents, Martin transformed “Shells of Hope” into a nonprofit organization, with the goal of supporting children with cancer and funding cancer research. She then spearheaded an Easter Gift for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to support childhood brain cancer research, leading to a $14,000 donation.
Heather Crisci, principal of Camden Catholic High School and Martin’s freshman English teacher, praised the teen for her commitment to others, “even while taking care of her own health. This past school year, she was able to gather the support of her classmates, and they supported her efforts in her project to collect toys for CHOP.”
Driven by faith
Grace has always had a strong faith, and while she admittedly was a little angry with God after her diagnosis, it was that faith that helped her persevere.
“The only thing I could do was to throw myself before Jesus and say, ‘I know you are going to get me through this. I know you are going to be in that operating room,’” she said. “I don’t think I could have gotten through the first three days at the hospital without having that belief in God and knowing that I wasn’t alone.”
And even in the midst of such a challenging ordeal, it was faith that helped Grace recognize how she was blessed.
“Faith has been a huge part of Grace’s recovery and her support system,” said her father, Bill. “She knows God has a plan for us all, and even though this was very unexpected, she has been able to put her faith in God and allow Him to lead her in the right direction.”
A ‘providential’ encounter
While Grace found solace and comfort in her faith as she underwent brain surgery and 33 subsequent proton radiation treatments, so, too, did her parents.
“The only way I could leave my daughter in that room was knowing that Mary would stand in my place and that Jesus was going to be the strength behind the humans,” said her mother, Kim. “It had to be God directing the humans in that room to push those buttons to heal my daughter.”
Kim Martin recalled Father Timothy Byerley, pastor of Saint Peter Parish, Merchantville, visiting to pray with her daughter and bless her with a relic from Saint John Neumann. During that visit, he encouraged Kim to visit and pray at the saint’s namesake shrine in Philadelphia.
It was during that visit to the shrine, and a stop at the gift shop, when she was struck by a product for sale – Rosary beads made from small shells. Given the name of her daughter’s service project, she was moved to bring some home for her family, and for others battling cancer.
She asked the clerk about where she could find more, and was connected with Father Matthew Weber, pastor of Holy Cross Parish, Bridgeton. Father Weber used to serve as a missionary in the Philippines, where he often came across things like bamboo crucifixes and rosaries made from seashells. He has continued to purchase some of those items to support the people who create them.
Father Weber later met with Grace Martin and her mother, and was likewise struck by the connection.
“I had met Grace and her mother only once. However, I truly believe that our encounter was providential,” he said. “Our Lady of the Rosary has brought us together. The encounter has been a blessing to me.”
Looking forward
Grace Martin looks forward to attending college next year and studying biochemistry – with aspirations for a possible career in medicine or law. She is currently vice president of her Shells of Hope nonprofit, and now that she is older than 18, she has been nominated to serve on the board of directors.
“We are a small nonprofit, but I really want to continue to expand it so we can help more and more kids battling pediatric cancer,” she said. “I plan on continuing to grow Shells of Hope so we can help as many kids and families as we can.”
Above all, she is grateful to be able to live her life, and she plans to continue working through her nonprofit to do as much good as she can.
“That’s my way of giving back,” she said.
To learn more about Shells of Hope, visit shellsofhopenj.org.
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