CHARLESTON, W.VA. – Two months after the loss of their 4-year-old son, Jonathan, to a childhood cancer called neuroblastoma, Tim and Melissa Powell envisioned a future where families aren’t financially burdened as a result of childhood illness. The Powells established the Jonathan Powell Hope Foundation in honor of their son and have helped the families of nearly 300 children since 2003.
On Wednesday, July 16, Governor Joe Manchin will honor the Jonathan Powell Hope Foundation for its tireless dedication to service at the annual Governor’s Service Awards banquet at the Charleston Civic Center. The banquet is held as a part of Faces of Leadership, the annual state volunteerism conference.
Presented annually since 1995, the Governor’s Service Awards honors youth, young adults, adults, seniors, families, organizations and businesses who exemplify outstanding dedication to volunteerism and community service in West Virginia. The Jonathan Powell Hope Foundation will receive the award in the organization category.
When parents are struggling to obtain funds for treatment and pay necessary living expenses, there are rarely funds available to help families with additional expenses such as travel, food and lodging. Nor is there a pool of funds to provide children with items such as toys or special trips to a favorite restaurant to help make the path a little easier.
Through their own grief, the Powells vowed to create a foundation to help make children and their families’ lives a little less stressful while they underwent the hardest struggle of their lives.
Since its inception, the Jonathan Powell Hope Foundation, an organization comprised entirely of volunteers, has raised more than $400,000 which has helped in the distribution of food cards, gas cards and gift cards for hundreds of families in West Virginia. The funds are raised primarily through an annual golf tournament, honoring the little boy who showed an early passion for the sport.
The Foundation has helped families in many ways including the purchase of a vehicle for a family in need of reliable transportation to get their child to and from treatments and funding a life-or-death emergency treatment trip to Memphis for a child and his family. In addition, the Foundation has provided numerous EZ Pass transponders to families in southern West Virginia traveling to and from Charleston for a child’s treatment.
“The Jonathan Powell Hope Foundation has been a lifesaving asset for patients and families in the oncology program,” Terennia Combs, a social worker at Womens and Childrens Hospital, said. “Without it I don’t know where help would come from.”
The Governor’s Service Awards are administered by the West Virginia Commission for National and Community Service to honor outstanding individuals, organizations and businesses solving community problems through volunteer service. A panel of volunteer judges, including past awardees, choose the recipients on the basis of achievement, community needs, continuing involvement, innovation and impact of service.
Other recipients of the 2008 Governor’s Service Awards include, by category:
- Lifetime Achievement: Harold “Kitty” Wilson, Calhoun County; William “Sarge” McGhee, Wyoming County; John “Bill” Dillon, Summers County
- Youth: Emily Boggs of Charleston
- Adult: Karen Haynes, Putnam County
- Senior: Laura Sevy, Fayette County; G. Lee Fisher, Braxton County
- Business: Verizon, statewide; INSITE, Kanawha County
For tickets to the awards banquet, or information about the conference, contact Moya Doneghy at (304) 558-0111 or 1-800-WV-HELPS, or by e-mail at Moya.Doneghy@wv.gov.
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