OUR FOREVER INSPIRATION
Our daily inspiration will always be twelve year old Jessie Rees. Her heart to help other kids fighting cancer back in 2011 as she was fighting terminal cancer is what started this wave of compassion and sustains us today.
OUR MISSION
Encourage every kid fighting cancer to Never Ever Give Up!
We fulfill our mission by CONNECTING with families, bringing AWARENESS to their stories, offering them a network of helpful RESOURCES and sending the entire family continual doses of ENCOURAGEMENT throughout their journey.
OUR VISION
Our national vision is to become a symbol of HELP and HOPE in the childhood cancer space so every child fighting cancer (and their families) have the support and encouragement to NEGU during their courageous fight.
Our global vision is to be able to say “yes” to any Children’s Hospital request for JoyJars.
OUR MISSION
Encourage every kid fighting cancer to Never Ever Give Up!
We fulfill our mission by CONNECTING with families, bringing AWARENESS to their stories, offering them a network of helpful RESOURCES and sending the entire family continual doses of ENCOURAGEMENT throughout their journey.
OUR VISION
Our national vision is to become a symbol of HELP and HOPE in the childhood cancer space so every child fighting cancer (and their families) have the support and encouragement to NEGU during their courageous fight.
Our global vision is to be able to say “yes” to any Children’s Hospital request for JoyJars.
OUR HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS
Jessie is diagnosed with cancer on March 3rd and decides three weeks later to help other kids that are fighting cancer. CBS News follows Jessie’s story. The first JoyJars are stuffed and the term “NEGU” (knee-goo) is born. The foundation is founded and the first NEGU Golf Classic is held. Both “JoyJars” and “NEGU” receive trademark protection.
Jessie earns her angel wings on January 5th. Over 5,000 people attend her celebration of life service. Jessie receives the Lady Diana Award and is recognized by CNN as Young Wonder. The first Gala is held and essential seed funds are raised to keep Jessie’s legacy moving forward. The JoyFactory moves out of the Rees’ garage. Anthem becomes first corporate sponsor. Kaitlin Sandeno becomes National Spokesperson.
Mobile JoyFactory is launched with the support of American Airlines. Jessie’s story gets shared at Elite 11 and inspires top high school quarterbacks like Deshaun Watson to help. ClubNEGU is launched so families can receive monthly encouragement. JoyJars reach kids fighting cancer in all 50 states.
Smartphone app, iNEGU, is launched and supported by top celebrities and athletes like Kobe Bryant, Jennifer Garner, Clayton Kershaw, and hundreds more. The first NEGU Crew is started by Kelyn Rowe with the New England Revolution to help kids fighting cancer have an amazing on-field sports experience.
The Jessie Rees Foundation becomes the beneficiary of the Annual Ava’s Kitchen fundraiser and starts helping families financially during the holidays. In addition, the Breakaway Adventure program starts to help families create memories.
Panasonic Avionics takes Mobile JoyFactorys global so their employees in Japan, Dubai, London, and Singapore can stuff JoyJars. The NEGU Crew MLS program expands to Sporting KC and FC Dallas. Over $300,000 is given away to help families during the holidays. JoyJars reach kids in over 40 countries.
Bristol-Meyer Squibb hosts the Mobile JoyFactory and sets a record by stuffing 17,500 JoyJars across seven locations in one week. Over $500,000 is given away to help families during the holidays. The foundation surpasses $20,000,000 raised and over 300,000 JoyJars sent worldwide since 2011.
The year started off with big goals to grow nationally and help more and more families NEGU. Then in March, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 and global pandemic. While COVID-19 impacted our ability to gather with donors and volunteers, we are forever grateful to everyone that helped from their homes and gave to ensure EVERY request for JOY was sent on time.
For a second year, COVID prevented us from holding our annual gala in March so we pivoted to a live production from the JoyFactory to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. We added a new outdoor event, Night of Joy, which was a tremendous success and allowed us to keep JOY flowing to kids fighting cancer. The NEGU Golf Classic set records numbers in attendance and overall revenue, which allowed us to give out over $350,000 in financial support in December.
Due to the generosity of so many people and companies, the foundation was able to raise over $5M for the first time in our 11 year history. These funds propelled our programs forward: Over 40,000 JoyJars, over 50 Mobile JoyFactory engagements, gave out over $500,000 to Courageous Families in December.
OUR LEADERSHIP
FOUNDERS Stacey and Erik Rees, Jessie’s parents, are so honored to partner with an incredible team of seasoned corporate executives and talented individuals who help advise, lead and manage the foundation. They truly believe in the principle of teamwork and their “better together” motto. Stacey leads the programs with an amazing group of staff and volunteers. Erik partners with the Board of Directors and National Advisory Team to help advance the mission. Together their sole purpose is to reach and resource every child fighting cancer in the world so they have the love, support and, encouragement to NEGU!
Donna Tomlinson
Sr. Director, Events & Video Production
Amber Gravely
Director of Marketing & Communications
Kristy Chuhaloff
Director, Program Operations
Shaya Rees Frum
Director of Program Advancement
Grant Frum
Director of Development
Julia Self
Director of Development
MaryLynn St. Germaine
Director of Community Engagement
Sheila Baker
Care Center Engagement Coordinator
Robert Longtree
Facility Operations Manager
Jana Perry
Family Resource Coordinator
Jenn Mickelsen
JoyFactory Coordinator
Erik Baker, Chairman
Owner Operator, Chick-Fil-A
Erik Rees, President
Jessie Rees Foundation
Layne Lawson, Vice-President
Director, Clear Channel Outdoor
Compensation Committee
Marilyn Henley, Treasurer
Owner, Hard-Hatt Construction
Finance Committee
Ryan Sauers, Secretary
President, Sauers Lopez Construction
Development Committee
Vince Cook, Member
CFO, ConcertoHealth
Finance Committee, Chair
Jennifer Olson, Member
VP, Finance Apriem Advisors
Finance Committee
Eric Estrella, Member
Sr. Partner, SBI: The Growth Advisory
Development Committee
Gordon MacLean, Member
Audit Partner, RJI CPA’s
Finance Committee
Dr. Mike Weiss, Member
Children’s Hospital of Orange County
Development Committee
Chris Marsh, Member
Founder & CEO, Cherry Tree Capital Partners
Development Committee, Chair
Bart Asner, Member
EVP, Optum Care – Retired
Development Committee
Kim Eilber, Member
SVP, PNC Bank
Governance Committee, Chair
Gary Mazzone, Member
Owner, Elite Global Solutions
Compensation Committee
Chad Shaw, Member
Founding Partner, MST Financial
Development Committee
Jared Bonneville, Member
VP of Marketing, UPS West Region
MARCOM Committee
Gerry Tschopp, Member
Global CMO, Experian
MARCOM Committee Chair
John Stratman, Member
Senior Director Public Affairs, Kaiser Permanente
Development Committee
Lauren Wright, Member
President, Financial Professionals Group
Development Committee
SPORTS ADVISORS::
Jordan Palmer
Founder, QB Summit
Bruce Tollner
Founder, Rep 1 Sports
TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR::
Scott Van Vliet
Corporate Vice President, Microsoft
INVESTMENT ADVISOR::
Ryan Brizendine
Managing Director, Westshore Wealth
LEGAL ADVISOR::
Collie James, Office Managing Partner
Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP
HEALTH CARE ADVISOR::
Pam Kehaly
CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield Arizona
CHARITABLE GIVING ADVISOR::
Tim Mulroy
Managing Director, Northwestern Mutual Orange County