A Seymour woman recently had the surprise of a lifetime.
Just a few minutes after 10 a.m. May 12, Lisa Manns received a FaceTime call from Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, co-hosts of “Today with Hoda and Jenna” on NBC, for their May Flowers Spring Surprises segment.
Manns’ friend, Bridget Longmeier of Seymour, had written to the show about Manns and the nonprofit organization she founded, Warrior Bags, with three of her best friends in 2018.
The organization provides cancer patients with tote bags and care packages to assist them in their fight.
Manns, now cancer-free, said the bags are a way to give back to all who helped her through her fight with cancer.
“Lisa is so cool to still be paying it forward over the last two years,” Kotb said. “She has sent over 600 bags out to cancer patients all over the country because no one fights alone.”
Kotb explained to Manns she had been nominated by Longmeier for the surprise, and then Hager asked her to go open her front door.
On Manns’ front porch was Longmeier with a large bouquet of flowers and a check from Kohl’s to Warrior Bags for $5,000.
Also standing outside with flowers were friends and family members, including the friends she started Warrior Bags with, Joan Logan, Mandy Craze and Mary Cunningham.
Longmeier said she watches Hoda and Jenna every morning as she works from home, and they are always highlighting stories like Lisa’s.
“They do this a lot for people who are deserving and who are doing cool and inspiring things, and I thought Lisa’s story needs to be on here and needs to be told,” she said.
Longmeier said a couple of weeks ago, she heard Kotb say they were doing spring surprises and people could be nominated, so she decided to nominate Manns.
“I got on the website and wrote a letter, which only took a few minutes,” she said. “Then a couple hours later, NBC called me and was wanting to know more about Lisa, her family, her kids and her story.”
The show representative said they would call Longmeier if they decided to choose Manns for the segment.
“I got a call the next day she’d been chosen, and I didn’t know her three friends personally since they live out of state,” she said. “I found them all through Facebook so they could be there, and Lisa’s daughter, Celia, helped me coordinate it all.”
Manns’ son, Matt, was holding the other phone for FaceTime during the show, and Manns other son, Kirk Jr., was there holding up a sign for his mom. Longmeier’s husband, Jason, and Manns’ husband, Kirk, were there, too.
Kirk said Lisa substitute teaches, and she got a call to sub on the day of the surprise, so he got in touch with the principal and asked if he could call and cancel mid-morning. That way, Lisa would be up and ready for the TV call.
After the live segment was over, Manns’ family and friends gathered inside her home.
“I feel shocked and humbled by this surprise,” she said.
Lisa was amazed that their little nonprofit in Seymour was recognized nationally, and she said it was a dream come true.
She was grateful to Longmeier for nominating her and very happy her three friends who help her with the nonprofit were able to be there.
Manns learned she had ovarian cancer in June 2017 while in Michigan for a family gathering. Her life was forever changed.
During the six weeks she traveled each Thursday from Seymour to the University of Louisville James Graham Brown Cancer Center for chemotherapy treatments, she would return home to find a care package waiting for her.
Each time, she had letters of encouragement and gifts from friends, family and some people she didn’t even know.
Logan, Craze and Cunningham couldn’t be there in person with Lisa as she went through her treatments, but they wanted to make sure she knew she wasn’t going through her journey alone.
So they sent Manns packages and early on, and they sent her a leather tote, which is what she took with her to her treatments from then on.
Once the treatments ended, Manns tried to think of how she could help others battling cancer.
During a trip to Chicago to attend a Cubs baseball game, she and Craze came up with the idea for the bags.
The nonprofit took off from there, and interest has gained momentum through word of mouth and social media.
The unincorporated nonprofit organization, which was acknowledged as a 501(c)(3) in August 2018, sends bags filled with items to “warriors” across the country.
“Every leather bag has items such as a blanket, tummy drops for nausea, lip balm, chemo bands, a devotional and small items to help cancer patients feel better,” Manns said.
To be there for Manns’ special surprise last week, Logan, who lives in Colorado, hopped on a plane to Indiana.
Logan said the four friends met in Fredericktown, Ohio, where they all lived and knew each other growing up.
Then Lisa and her husband moved to Indiana in 2016 after he accepted his current position as athletic director at Seymour High School.
“Me, Mary and Mandy were sending care packages to Lisa as she was going through her chemotherapy and thought, ‘What if they could do that for others?’” Logan said. “It’s a very worthwhile endeavor.”
When Logan heard about the TV surprise, she thought it was a blessing and a gift and also a great way to get Warrior Bags out into the world so they can continue.
Manns’ other two friends traveled from Ohio to join in on the surprise.
Cunningham said she was totally shocked but excited when she found out Lisa would be on the national TV show.
“We created the idea for the bags together, but I help with getting the bags ready and mailing them out,” she said.
Craze said she is in charge of getting back to people with requests, so when someone contacts them, she calls the individuals, whether it’s for themselves or a friend or family member, to find out about the warrior.
Logan helps spread the word out about the nonprofit and does whatever else might be needed.
Manns said all of the items are either donated or purchased with donated money, and the nonprofit typically doesn’t have any personal connection to the individuals receiving the bags.
As of May 11, 655 bags have gone out to cancer patients all over the country, some as far as France, Canada and Ireland.
Since the TV show aired, at least 239 new requests have come in for the Warrior Bags, Craze said.
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Warrior Bags is an unincorporated nonprofit that was acknowledged as a 501(c)(3) in August 2018.
The organization sends bags filled with gifts to cancer patients across the country.
Seymour resident Lisa Manns is the president and chairwoman of the board of Warrior Bags.
To request a bag be sent to an individual, make a donation or request information, visit warriorbags.org.
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