ALISO VIEJO – Katie Boyster packed pens, stuffed animals, jacks and bouncy balls into her Joy Jars as tightly as she could.
“I try to make it that when they open it, it will pop out and they’ll be happy they got lots of stuff,” the 8-year-old Rancho Santa Margarita girl said. “It makes me sad that they’re sick and they don’t get to leave the hospital.”
Sandy Harmon, left, and UPS Southern California President Kenneth Cherry take part in a Joy Jar packing party in Aliso Viejo on Friday. The company is supporting the memory of Jessie Rees, a Rancho Santa Margarita girl who died from brain cancer this year.
Katie and her sister, Bailey, 9 came to the United Parcel Service Aliso Viejo headquarters and joined their father Doug, an employee of UPS and nearly 100 other employees from the company’s executive, logistic and health teams in packing more than 500 Joy Jars.
The Joy Jars, an outreach effort of the Jessie Rees Foundation’s Never Ever Give Up campaign, were stuffed, boxed and put in cartons for shipping to 29 children’s hospitals nationwide. The Joy Jars are given to children fighting cancer as a way to provide them some happiness while undergoing challenging treatments.
The idea of the Joy Jars was developed by Jessie Rees, a 12-year-old girl from Rancho Santa Margarita who was diagnosed with brain cancer. During her battle, she and her parents founded the NEGU Foundation, which stands for Never Ever Give Up. That will forever be the foundation’s motto, Erik Rees, Jessie’s father said. Jessie died in January after a 10-month battle with cancer. The foundation’s name was officially changed on April 8, which would have been Jessie’s 13th birthday.
The foundation passed its 15,000 mark and is well on its way to 20,000 now, Rees said. Jessie inspired tens of thousands of Facebook fans around the world. She turned her illness into a chance to rally for other kids with cancer.
Recently Dallas Cowboys running back De Marco Murray reached out to help. He and Rees will distribute Joy Jars at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas in two weeks. The foundation has also been selected by Anthem Blue Cross of California to celebrate the group’s 75th anniversary. The healthcare agency will send out Joy Jars to every child in California that is fighting cancer on that date later this year.
For Kenneth Cherry, president of UPS Southern California District, the charity seemed a perfect fit. The company’s healthcare and life science division has a motto; “It’s a patient, not a package.” Cherry also had a personal connection. His grandmother, who raised him, had battled and died from cancer and Jessie story was near to his heart.
“It’s important to give back not only by volunteering but financially,” he said. “It’s important we stay connected to the community. We’re giving back to someone who is doing something that’s important to his family and it’s also something that is important to mine.”
Some UPS employees stayed after working the graveyard shift, others used their lunch break to help out and still others came to work early.
Joe Moravcik, 43, a supervisor at UPS came in early for his shift. He brought his daughter, Skyler, 13, with him.
“It’s a great opportunity for a good cause,” he said. “Everyone is pulling together to make it happen.”
For Skyler the event was even more special. She had gone to school with Jessie from Kindergarten through 6th grade.
“I miss her a lot,” Skyler, of Rancho Santa Margarita said. “She always made everybody happy. That was her personality before she got sick and after she got sick. It just seemed like the right thing to do to come out here and help.”
Rees said his daughter’s quest of instilling happiness and hope in children battling cancer is gaining momentum because it provides tangible results.
“People see the impact of the Joy Jars at the hospitals,” Rees said. “NEGU is our way of caring for the families as they help their children fight this terrible disease.”
Source: By ERIKA I. RITCHIE / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Contact the writer: 949-454-7307 or eritchie@ocregister.com or twitter.com/lagunaini