ECN Receives Shipment of 100 Joy Jars to be Sent to CCHE 57357

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Jessie Rees, the founder of Joy Jars, spent all of 2011 battling two brain tumors. The daughter of a pastor in California, her wish was to encourage other children like her to “never ever give up” in their respective fights against cancer. It is this catchphrase – shortened to “ NEGU “ – that became the slogan for her campaign to send out Joy Jars, which she fully devoted herself to before her passing in 2012 at the age of just 12 years. The purpose of the Joy Jars, which are gender and age-specific, is to “spread hope, joy and love” to children who are fighting cancer. Each plastic jar is filled with toys and games which empower and strengthen their recipients.

These Joy Jars will be sent over in a shipping container that is being assembled by over 100 volunteers from the organization United to Heal, a humanitarian organization that is stationed at Virginia Commonwealth University. United to Heal collects, sorts and sends shipments of surplus medical supplies to hospitals and institutions in developing countries. United to Heal will also be including medical supplies in this particular shipment, which is destined for our partnering institutions, including Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357.

To date, 25,000 Joy Jars have been sent to children in over 50 states and in 162 hospitals. Joy Jars are distributed free of charge. In their gift-in-kind to Egypt Cancer Network 57357, the Jessie Rees Foundation is sending Joy Jars overseas for the first time. Through the Jessie Rees Foundation, her parents and others continue to give life to Jessie’s dream of spreading joy.

For more information about Joy Jars and the Jessie Rees Foundation, please visit www.negu.org.