Meet Kristina Corrales Raso of The Pearl Project

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristina Corrales Raso.

Kristina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Just before my 19th birthday, my mother had a seizure in a salon chair, and our lives forever changed.

At 47, she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. My mom encountered many physical, spiritual, and emotional struggles during her treatment, but one struggle she did not expect was the stigma of her disease. She did not smoke but found herself defending her cancer. I remember her telling me she wished she had a different type of cancer so she could feel unconditional support without questions or judgment. After all, cancer is cancer.

After a courageous 4-year battle, my beautiful mom passed away, but her story continued to brew in me. Where was the prominent awareness ribbon or symbol to support lung cancer? After all, it is the leading cancer killer in women? I wanted to bring my knowledge of marketing and branding to lung cancer awareness, and The Pearl Project – think pearls for lung cancer awareness – was born.

I designed a line of pearl jewelry in my mom’s memory, and 100% of proceeds from sales support lung cancer research and awareness funding through charity partner The American Lung Association. We are challenging others to change the way they see lung cancer. Lung cancer is, by far, the leading cancer killer in the world. And the first step in changing that is erasing its stigma.

There is still a lot of work to do, but we are headed in the right direction — forward. And my mission is to change the way people think about lung cancer, one pearl at a time.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of my biggest challenges is opening up a conversation about something people don’t really want to talk about.

Anti-tobacco campaigns, while well intended, have conditioned us to think of lung cancer as an ugly and self-inflicted disease. Just do a Google image search for “lung cancer” to get an idea of how we see the disease. (Then compare that to Breast Cancer, which is a great model in making a taboo topic socially acceptable to talk about. We can thank Betty Ford for igniting that!) There is a lot of psychology behind our perception of lung cancer and its victim-blaming.

When someone has lung cancer, we immediately ask if they were a smoker, or exposed to smoke at some point. And the thought process behind it is, “if I can give a reason for that person getting lung cancer, I can prevent it from happening to me.” The sad truth is that more women under 50 are being diagnosed with lung cancer than ever before, and the rates are rising, smoker or not. It’s a women’s health issue that deserves progress and compassion. Another struggle is, of course, the emotional component.

Opening up about losing my mom on a public platform was very scary; it was something I didn’t talk about for years. There was so much pain associated with losing her. But I’ve been so moved by everyone’s support of The Pearl Project, and the many people who now see lung cancer in a different light.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about The Pearl Project – what should we know?
The Pearl Project is unique in that its mission is to change the social perception of lung cancer. I’ve always believed that the first step in making progress in any social issue is opening up the conversation. Want to fundraise? First, you have to get people comfortable talking about the cause. Want people to show up to an event? You need people to feel a sense of compassion for your cause. And the best way to do that is by sharing our personal stories.

The Pearl Project jewelry is the only jewelry brand I know of that is dedicated to promoting lung cancer awareness. It’s even more unique in that all the proceeds from sales are donated to charity partner The American Lung Association. (We don’t take donations and ask all donations to be made to The American Lung Association.) It is a 100% give back operation with a mission of social change.

We’ve co-sponsored the Lung Force (American Lung Association) Gala in Los Angeles for the past two years, walked in the Lung Force walk for the past three years, and I am a member of the Lung Cancer Leadership Board which plans initiatives to protect our lungs and the air we breathe.

By offering a symbol as beautiful and recognizable as the pearl, I am proud of the strides we’ve made in re-branding a disease as one that deserves community support, funding for progress, and compassion.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I started The Pearl Project because I believe in it. I created it in memory of my mother, and for a community, she belongs to. On social media, I approach the branding aspect of The Pearl Project very carefully — I always use positive, beautiful imagery that is uplifting and inspiring.

People respond to authenticity, human kindness, and our shared desire to be a part of something — and that is what I offer with The Pearl Project. Offering a physical item with The Pearl Project has been instrumental in fundraising. There is something sacred about the symbol of jewelry — when you wear a piece of jewelry it is a part of you. And I love that I can offer that to people who want to help spread the word about lung cancer awareness.

The jewelry makes amazing gifts, and I wear and test each design before I list it for sale. I’ve also learned a lot from partnering with The American Lung Association — how to plan events, get people to show up, and the importance of building relationships with like-minded people who share your mission.

I’m an introvert but have pushed myself out of my comfort zone to expand the mission of The Pearl Project and its reach. Maintaining a positive and open-minded attitude as The Pearl Project grows and evolves has been crucial in keeping it going.

Pricing:

• Pearl Project Ribbon Pendant (White, Yellow or Rose Gold Plated/Swarovski pearl) $29
• Pearl Project Ribbon Earrings (White, Yellow or Rose Gold Plated/Swarovski pearl) $29
• Pearl Project Natural Stone Bracelet (Various stone options/freshwater pearl) $29
• Pearl Project Single Pearl Pendant (Yellow gold plated/freshwater pearl) $29
• Pearl Project Legacy Pearl Necklace (White Gold Plated/Swarovski pearls) $100

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pearlproject.org / www.hellopearlproject.com
• Email: rethinklungcancer@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pearlproject/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rethinklungcancer

Image Credit:
Casey Kuznetsky

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