Dear Friends of A Generosity Project,

As of August, the plan was to launch A Generosity Project 2023. We found ourselves in the hospital with our son. Our youngest Hunter became lethargic, and we took him to the doctor. Our doctor kindly gave me that look; "We need to do blood work and do it quickly."

As we got the blood results back that afternoon, she indicated we needed to head to the ER and get a blood transfusion because he was so low on blood and his bone marrow was not producing cells. As parents, Jason and I entered high gear, got there fast, and prepared to do whatever it took to help our son. As doctors ran every test, there would be imaginable searching and searching for the cause. We spent the night in the ICU at Seattle Children's Cancer Ward—a place that we have committed to serving we found ourselves in. As the hematologist came in repeatedly awaiting results, they concluded, "We don't know yet why this is happening to your son, but there is no cancer in his body." Relief filled us as the numbness in my arms regained sensation. I was also keenly aware that this was not the same news other families had received on this floor of the hospital.

A few weeks later, we would get Hunter another transfusion in the same area where kids came to get chemotherapy treatments. I watched as sweet children and their parents were coming in for something different than us.

We ran into beautiful friends fighting for complete healing for their baby girl, who had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. And then, my brilliant and lovely friend Dr. Kasey Leger (and advisor to A Generosity Project) came down to see us as she was training up other doctors who were doing their best to find cures for leukemia. Code Blue and Code Red would go off on the floor that we were on. As I held my son, I began praying for these families and their kids for healing through medicine and perhaps a supernatural answered prayer that cancer would leave their bodies entirely.

As I talked with Dr. Leger, she said to me with kindness and empathy. Perhaps God is using this journey for you to see the lives A Generosity Project is genuinely impacting. I couldn't agree more. I would never wish for this journey, but I believe all things work out for good and that God, in his kindness, would give us a deeper level of empathy for these families we support.

Thankfully, a few weeks have passed, and Hunter is making those red blood cells again. And now, we continue to pursue how to show up for these families. As we entered the hospital, I spent time with doctors. It felt like our world stopped for a moment, everything else disappeared, and we would do whatever it took to see him healthy. Stuff did not matter. I looked into the eyes of many families, and I could tell the level of fatigue families felt as they were here day in and day out. And strength to their souls was everything. Each family has a different story, and each family is journeying through a unique diagnosis.

Our contribution sounds simple, yet with all my heart, I know it is powerful. The act of generosity. And so a box, a simple box. Delivered to these families with a message: I'm holding your hand, coming along the side of you, and with you. An exhale, a chance to breathe, an opportunity to focus on bringing joy to their families amid the fatigue of the fight.

This year, we will give more strategically than ever. These families are strong. And Resilient in so many ways. We want to show them that we are with them.