Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Joy Jar

A few months ago, I began to see posts on Facebook and on the cancer boards I read about a girl named Jessica Joy Rees.  She was also fighting a brain tumor, and had an idea to bring joy to other kids who, like her, were in and out of hospitals for life-threatening illnesses.  She coined the term Never Ever Give Up (NEGU), and rallied tons of support for children with cancer.  Jessie was just 12 when, after 10 months, she lost the battle with her tumor and passed away in January 2012.

Part of the Team NEGU support is to provide Joy Jars to kids in treatment.  Joy Jars of big jars packed full with fun things for kids who need some cheering up.  I ordered one for Scarlett as part of her end of chemo celebration, and it arrived just in time this week!

The pink pouf came busting out of the jar when we opened it!

She had fun taking each item out and tasting it before moving on to the next thing.

She spent a few minutes flinging these Winnie the Pooh socks around before settling for chewing on the jar itself.

Team NEGU, along with Jessie's family, are working on some major fundraising to be able to provide Joy Jars for kids in hospitals all over the country and the world.  Last I saw, they have agreements with more than 60 hospitals (including both of Scarlett's)!  They are working to collect Facebook "likes" - they have been promised a big donation if they can reach 200,000 by Jessie's birthday in April.  Give them a hand by "liking" the page for Jessica Joy Rees, and share with your friends.  Jessie's beautiful spirit lives on through each child who smiles at their Joy Jar.  Never Ever Give Up! 

5 comments:

Olivesmomlmt said...

So awesome. I've followed your blog since the begining and saw Jessie's page on Facebook a few months ago. So glad miss scarlett got a little EXTRA joy for her end of chemotherapy celebration! NEGU Scarlett!!

Jaclynn_kyuss said...

So happy she;s doing so good. I "liked" their page and posted it in my mommy group and page.

sredmon81 said...

Ah she looks so happy and healthy in the above pictures. Its nice to see her lovely smiling face.

Robin said...

What a great idea! Scarlett is looking cute as ever! Give those cheeks a big smooch from us!
Praying for you always!

Julie said...

Really cute pics! I saw 2 important research articles about pediatric brain tumours in top journals last month, so it made me think of you guys. I read them from front to cover, to understand a bit more about it. Just wanted to let you know pediatric brain tumours are at the forefront of research right now!
Julie