Join us in celebrating our volunteer's hard work and dedication towards finding a cure for childhood cancer. Any nonprofit knows that volunteers are the lifeline of any operation. They help conduct events and fundraising efforts and continues our fight for a cure without asking for anything in return. Their selflessness and giving nature has helped Joshua's Wish stay strong for over 12 years. Since day one, our many volunteers have followed our journey with all of its ups and downs. We honor all of our volunteers, both past and present, and want to give the spotlight to a few we believe set the standard for what volunteerism is all about. Jonathan was an exceptional volunteer who had been with Joshua's Wish since the very beginning. He worked on our first website and made graphics for many of our events even up to his passing in 2020. Thank you, Jonathan, for your generous commitment, time, support, and dedication to Joshua's Wish. You are an inspiration and our organization will miss your tireless devotion and your talent. In memory of Jonathan and his gracious spirit, Joshua's Wish created the Jonathan B. Davis volunteer award that will be given each year to the person who goes above and beyond in dedicated service to Joshua's Wish. We presented this award to his family in our 2022 Birthday Bash. In the future, we hope to give out this award to many of our volunteers who exemplify Jonathan's compassion and empathy. Will Dasher is a Mercer Law School student who has volunteered all three years while in law school. He organized and coordinated law students to volunteer at Joshua’s Wish events. He has also volunteered himself at these events. He was there when nobody else was there to help. We will miss him! We wish him well as he graduates from law school next month. Here's what Will has to say about his future plans and Joshua's Wish's impact on him: After graduation, I plan to take the GA Bar Exam in July and begin my career in Augusta, GA working primarily in personal injury law. I volunteer for Joshua’s Wish because I saw an opportunity my 1L year to have a positive impact on Joshua’s Wish, the Macon community, and Mercer Law School. I then decided to become more involved as President to better affect others in a positive way. Funny enough, I think the influence that Joshua’s Wish had on me far out measures any contribution I could ever make to such an amazing organization. I’m a better student and man thanks to Joshua’s Wish and I’ll always be thankful for that. Mrs. Sherry Sanders and her sister Jan Porch started volunteering with Joshua’s Wish just last year! In the picture with them is their brother. Hear from Sherry about why she and her sister volunteers for Joshua's Wish: This is our brother who has been fighting melanoma for 8 years now. He is one of many reasons that Jan and I volunteer. My husband and I have healthy children and grandchildren so we have a responsibility to help others who must face this horrible disease. Here is Mercer Law School Students volunteering at the 5K and Joshua’s Birthday Bash. They have been working with Joshua's Wish for a very long time and we are always grateful for their dedication to helping us in various fundraising events. In order to have a successful fundraisers, we have to get people in the seats. Veronica fulfills this important job and volunteers her time to help sell tickets or registrations for our events. Ms. Ruth Ellison is one of our volunteer ticket sellers for Joshua’s Birthday Bash, selling 25 or more tickets for the event. She not only sells tickets for the birthday bash but collects donations as well. Ms. Ellison starts after each birthday bash getting her list together for the next year and telling people she comes in contact with on a daily basis about Joshua’s Wish and the birthday bash! Clementine Matthews is our very creative volunteer! For years, she has volunteered to make baskets for our silent auction and decorations for our tables at the Birthday Bash. Adam Kacsoh is a Mercer University student that started volunteering just last year! He helped fold race t-shirts and gave his support all during race day. He's even volunteered his time just recently to continue helping Joshua’s Wish throughout the year. All of these volunteers make finding a cure all worth it! We are thankful for their hard work and dedication. We have the best volunteers around and we hope they continue to support Joshua's Wish in the future.

With the Spring time coming into view, it's important to keep the fight for a cure going. With the birds humming and the sun out, there's tons of different things everyone, both near and far, can do to help children and their families all while making people more aware of the impact this disease has on people everywhere. You have the power to do so much and this article has some great ideas that can create fun memories and make a difference. Shave your head in solidarity with our young warriors Spring time is a great time for a new haircut! Kids fighting cancer did not choose to lose all their hair and change their entire lives. Since you have that choice and the power to decide what happens to your hair, why not show our warriors that they're not alone in this battle? You could throw an event where people can donate to childhood cancer and can make it even more fun by giving the person that donated the most the honor of cutting your hair! Children need to know that they have supporters near and far and we're sure they would be grateful to have you on their side. Fundraise to help give families peace of mind during their child's battle with cancer Raising funds is important to continue the fight against childhood cancer! Not only is fundraising good for the family but also helps to encourage the child to keep fighting to survive. Fundraising can take many forms: from starting a Facebook fundraiser to starting a GoFundMe for your favorite nonprofits in the fight for a cure. Crowdfunding is a new and exciting way to raise funds and gather people together in order to make a child's battle with cancer less stressful. Many have been successful in raising thousands of dollars for treatments and hospital stays. When money is left over, may times it is given to fund childhood cancer research. So not only will you be helping families get through this tough ordeal, you'll also be helping to fund research that could save many lives. "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. " – Margaret Mead Share your story about your experience with childhood cancer Everyone has experience childhood cancer in some form: whether its something you personally went through or someone you know that was affected. Your story could inspire others to advocate for more childhood cancer research. Making others aware of the effects of cancer on children will not only save lives but makes the world a much better place to live. In fact, Joshua's story was shared on St Jude as part of their Inspire series. His parents and Joshua's Wish founders Trent and Labrina Solomon recounted their short time with Joshua and the many memories they have of him. Share your story throughout anytime you feel comfortable! You never know who'll hear or read it and the impact it'll have on them. Get to Know childhood cancer survivors and their stories Learn about other's experiences with childhood cancer. Stories inspire hope in the minds of listeners and promotes change to take place. It also encourages you to be more empathetic towards our young warriors and their family and friends. When one child suffers, an entire village feels it. Living in the digital age, we have endless options to hear and learn more about what children and their families are going through or have went through in the battle. Youtube is a great source to start with. You can even visit some blogs families have written about their journey. By listening to their experiences, you keep their stories alive and prospering into the future. Donate to your favorite nonprofits helping children fight cancer Take action and put money where your mouth is! We've all heard that saying and it rings true for every child suffering with childhood cancer. Donate to your favorite nonprofits helping children fight cancer. Every amount counts and goes toward helping children and their families. More importantly, always do your research before donating to any nonprofit organization to make sure your donation goes toward causing actual change in the lives of children and their families. Less than 4% of federal funding is directed towards childhood cancer research. Donate to nonprofits like Joshua's Wish to ensure this percentage grows and become a Joshua's Friend today on www.joshuaswish.org. Now it's time to do the work! Spreading awareness about childhood cancer can be done in many different ways. All that matter is that you take action towards making a difference. About 400,000 children, aged 19 and under, are diagnosed with cancer each year. Those children deserve to live a long and happy life. With your support and dedication, we're sure that we can help find a cure to create more smiles and memories for our young warriors.

Earlier this week, Macon Telegraph journalist Ed Grisamore authored an article sharing our story and some news about our upcoming Birthday Bash for a Cure. We are so grateful to have support from Ed and the Macon Telegraph team. Check out this quick read and don't forget to purchase your ticket for the bash today!

Last Tuesday, November 30, 2021, was #GivingTuesday, a worldwide day of generosity where thousands of nonprofits come together to raise funds towards different causes that will make a difference in the lives of millions everywhere. Over the past few years, Joshua's Wish has been able to raise thousands of dollars from generous supporters like you that found it in your hearts to give any amount towards a cure for childhood cancer. We are ecstatic to announce that Joshua's Wish was able to raise over $1,500 on this single day of giving. Over 25 of our supporters donated well into the next day, with donations ranging from $5 to $300. We are so grateful for each and every single one of you that gave towards our mission from your own pockets. We also give thanks to those that were unable to give but shared our social media posts to friends and families. Spreading awareness is key to funding more research for a cure. And lastly, we'd like to thank board member Deb Mohler for raising $240 with her own Facebook fundraiser! Every penny raised goes toward making sure children suffering from childhood cancer everywhere, specifically pediatric brain tumors, have a greater chance at survival and living long and normal lives. THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS #GIVINGTUESDAY A BIG SUCCESS!

Our childhood cancer angel Joshua Solomon passed away 12 years ago after battling Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). This is an aggressive and inoperable brain tumor that affect 10%-20% of children diagnosed with brain tumors according to St. Jude. He went on to live less than one year after his diagnosis and during that short amount of time, Joshua touched the lives of every person he came into contact with. One of those many lives was one of his doctors, Dr. Lionel Chow, MD, PhD. Read this short blog written by Dr. Chow detailing his experience with Joshua and how he never failed to smile and lit up a room.