Healing Through Ink: A Scholarship in Memory of Ape
About April & The Scholarship
April DeManss didn't just survive — she decided what survival looked like on her own terms. After her mastectomy, she chose to go flat and wear that choice as art. She showed up, showed off, and showed the world exactly who she was. One of April’s friends so accurately described her as light in human form.
April was one of Rebuild-A-Bitch's fiercest champions. She talked about us to anyone who would listen, opened doors we didn't know existed, and connected us with people and partners who helped us grow. She believed in this community before it was fully built — and she helped build it anyway. This scholarship is our way of honoring that energy by paying it forward to the women who need it most.
Healing Through Ink awards $500 annually* to a woman impacted by breast cancer to partially fund a mastectomy tattoo — because reclaiming your body after cancer is healing, and healing is allowed to be beautiful, fierce, and entirely yours.
The award is given each year on or around August 21st— April's birthday — as a living celebration of the way she chose to live.
Why Mastectomy Tattoos
A mastectomy tattoo isn't a cover-up. It's a declaration.
For many women, the mastectomy is just the beginning. A tattoo over or around the site is a way of saying: this body went through something, and it's still mine. It's art as ownership. Grief turned into something permanent and powerful.
April understood that. She lived it. And she would have wanted every woman who felt the same to have the resources to do it.
Donate to the Fund
April spent her life lifting other women up — connecting them, championing them, refusing to let them go unnoticed. You can help carry that forward.
Contributions to the Healing Through Ink fund go directly toward the annual $500 scholarship award, paid straight to the tattoo artist so the recipient can focus on healing, not logistics.
Who Can Apply
This scholarship is open to women who:
Have already had a mastectomy (it is recommended that you are at least 2 years out from surgery)
Are ready to book their mastectomy tattoo and can do so within 6 months of the award date
Are located within the continental United States
The $500 award is paid directly to your tattoo artist.
Apply for the Scholarship
Applications open every April and close on August 15th. The award is announced on or around August 21st.