An avid performer in community theater productions, Greg Chastain (pictured back row second from left) has many talented friends. When Greg lost his mother, Barbara Byrd, to pancreatic cancer in 2009, some of his friends shared their own stories of loved ones affected by cancer. Greg was inspired to honor his mother by creating Voices of Hope, a cabaret-style evening of testimonies in song, dance and spoken word of loss, love and courage from a variety of people whose lives have been changed by cancer.
In October 2009, Voices of Hope debuted with 29 performers before a sold-out audience at NextDoor Theater in Winchester. The stirring production raised $25,000 for the Expect Miracles Foundation, a key contributor to the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
A year later, a 125-strong Voices of Hope performed before an audience of almost 1,000 at Boston’s Symphony Hall, raising $50,000 for the foundation.
Voices of Hope provides a moving theatrical event that raises the spirits of performers and audiences alike and at the same time, supports transformative research.
