That We Might Have Joy: Brian's Story

My name is Brian.  On the morning of November 22nd, 2012, I was watching the morning news and a story came on about a local little girl named Caroline.  She was 5 years old and had a brain tumor called (DIPG).  Her parents, Rachael and Kevin, explained how this cancer was pretty much a death sentence-- no hope, no cure.  Typically children between the ages of 5-9 are diagnosed, and the life expectancy is 9-12 months.  I watched in disbelief.  How can this be?  At the end of the program they said they created a Facebook page for her so people could follow her story.  I decided to "like" the page.  Caroline became the first child I ever followed.  I watched update after update, and my heart broke more and more.  By following Caroline's story, it lead me to follow more kids, and by doing so, I realized how a simple gift would cheer them up.  On March 7th, 2013, I created a page called Jars of Hope "Inspired by Caroline."  I fill an 8x4 plastic jar with as many toys possible to kids ages 3-12 battling any health issue.  I put the child's name on the lid along with their favorite stickers.  My aunt also makes character pillowcases that I include in each package.  Each child is sponsored for $20 by a follower on my page.  $15 helps pay for the shipping and the purchase of toys and $5 from each sponsored child is banked at the end of the month and the money will help a family.  Four months after I created the page, Caroline passed away from her 8 month battle with her brain tumor.

This challenge isn't so much my personal challenge, but how can I help someone out during theirs. I can share so many illnesses that my followers have never heard of and help spread awareness, along with joy.

Being able to send a gift like this in the mail can turn a bad moment into a good moment, a bad day into a good day.  Some kids take these to their appointments.  Some kids receive their jar and pillowcase in the hospital.  It brings me great joy to see them smile.  My joy is found knowing that every smile created is a result of the impact Caroline's story had on me.

To date, over 1,400 kids have received a jar and 600 kids have received a pillowcase (they were started a bit later).

In this picture is a little boy named Vincent. He's enjoying his jar and Batman pillowcase. He lost his left eye to retinoblastoma (cancer).