So, what is Joy After Grief all about?
Well, I call it Project Joyx50.
Here’s the “x50” part…
I’m turning 50 at the end of July. I want to give the world something for my birthday. So I’m delivering a video a day… for 50 days… to celebrate my 50 years…
AND RAISE $50,000 DOLLARS FOR ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHARITIES.
The charity is the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund: https://tcjayfund.org/
Their tagline says it all: “Help Families Tackling Childhood Cancer.” These are good people, doing very good work. Check out the stories on their site.
Or you can watch my videos on this site and read my emails – the Jay Fund was there for my family while we struggled with our second son’s heroic fight with cancer a few years ago. It’s real, folks.
Now do you see why they’re one of my favorite charities?
Here’s some of what they do:
- The Jay Fund helps relieve financial burdens and stress by helping with household expense payments during a crisis and formulating a long-term financial game plan to make it through childhood cancer financially intact.
- They support treatment centers and programs that make the patient’s visits more tolerable or effective for them and their families.
- They help patients get a “day off” from cancer and create happy memories with their families. Research shows that social interaction and social skills development lead to better psychological adjustment for patients and their families.
I can tell you this: the $50K we’re raising here will be put to very good use. All the more so, in light of COVID-19 and its ruinous economic impacts, which I think we’re going to see for a long time to come.
So, what about the “Joy” part of Project Joyx50?
Easy…
- It gives me great joy raise these much-needed funds for this worthy charity.
- It gives me great joy to have stumbled upon such an engrossing and inspiring PASSION PROJECT! Not only have I found a new and cool way to celebrate my birthday by releasing a bunch of videos and conducting a charity fundraiser – I’m also writing a book. I plan to be a published author (at last) by the Big 5-0.
- It gives me great joy to share with you some of what I’ve learned about life after 50 years of walking on this old earth… including what I’ve learned about loss, mourning, grief, and THE JOY THAT’S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF GRIEF. Having lost a 3 1/2 year-old son to cancer, and having worked with many grieving souls over the years as a priest, I believe that what I have to share has the potential to really help some hurting folks out there.
So, yes, this is all about joy. Not some superficial, pop-a-pill and you’re good to go kind of “joy.” No – we’re talking about the real thing: the kind of joy that can only come after you’ve paid your dues, gotten the snot kicked out of you by life, and looked into your soul and come face to face with levels of pain and brokenness that can stop you dead in your tracks, feeling that there’s maybe no way you’ll ever get back up and get moving and living a real life ever again.
The kind of joy that lies on the other side of THAT kind of pain and loss.
I’m gonna try to put some of that into these videos – and lot more into my book. I should be able to launch the book a few days before my birthday. It will be free as an Amazon e-book – right now, I’m encouraging folks to donate directly to the Jay Fund here:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/joy-after-grief
After the launch period, when the book has a regular price, a portion of the sales will always go the Jay Fund.
And that, my friend, is the vision of Joy After Grief and Project Joyx50.
Check out my videos. Get on my email list for more insights, maybe some previews of what’s in the book, and more. I’m glad you’re here.
And remember: If we look for it and work for it, there is always joy waiting once grief has had its say and done is it’s work in our lives.
– John