Pittsburgh, PA, 1 of only 8 sites in nation to participate in Beads Challenge

PITTSBURGH, Pa., Sept. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Who: 13-year old artist Maddy Rice; Paige Ikanipour, Pittsburgh Glass Center; Colin Smith, Beads of Courage, and patients and families in Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh's Beads of Courage Program

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120914/LA74498LOGO)

Event Details: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, September 15, 2012, at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, 5472 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA

About Beads of Courage: The mission of Beads of Courage, Inc. is to provide innovative arts-in-medicine-programs for children coping with serious illness, their families and the healthcare providers who care for them. Since 2005, we have been working to transform the treatment experience for these courageous families here in Pittsburgh, PA, and around the world. We currently provide the flagship, Beads of Courage® Program to over 150 hospitals worldwide. Since 2004, Beads of Courage, Inc. has partnered with bead artists to create handmade one-of-a-kind beads to honor Acts of Courage throughout treatment. It is through the annual donation of more than 50,000 glass beads that Beads of Courage Members (patients) are able to be recognized for defining moments in treatment, recognizing it might be hard, but they did it! www.beadsofcourage.org.

About Bead Challenge 2012: The Bead Challenge is a day of awareness and six hours of bead making. Bead artists will be firing up their torches at eight glass studios across the USA and more than 50 artists will be torching from a distance. The event will include dedicated hours of making The Pittsburgh Bead of Courage® inspired and created by 13-year-old Maddy Rice and her instructor, Melissa Fitzgerald of the Pittsburgh Glass Center. The event is FREE to attend and open to the public.

About Pittsburgh Glass Center

Glass Art. We teach it. We create it. We promote it. We support those who make it. Pittsburgh Glass Center is a nonprofit, public access glass school, gallery, and state-of-the-art studio. Visit us in Pittsburgh, PA, in the East End two blocks west of the Penn & Negley Avenue intersection or visit us online  www.pittsburghglasscenter.org.

For the full news release,visit www.beadsofcourage.org.

SOURCE Beads of Courage