People We’ve Helped

Gabel Family received a donation from the JK Foundation in memory of Dusty Gabel

I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank the JK Foundation for working with the Hickory PINK Club. The purpose of the Hickory PINK Club is to raise money for local families battling Cancer. We loved partnering with you all for our annual fundraiser called PINKAPALOOZA. Because of JK Foundation’s generous donation, the Cooper family received $10,500 dollars in donations, much needed after the passing of Mr. Cooper’s lovely wife. It was very heartwarming to hear the kind and inspiring words shared by the JK Foundation and the exciting moment the physically large check was presented. It was amazing to partner up with you all, and we can’t thank you enough for working with us, to pull off such a special night.

Les Maudlin

Director of the Hickory PINK Club

From left to right: Carlos Eason (Board Member), Chad Madaloni (Board Member), Shawn Darnell (Board Member), Thomas Cooper, Les Maudlin (Director of Hickory Pink Club), Elizabeth Kelly, Jacqueline Kelly, & Owen Kelly

The JK Foundation and its members were such a blessing when I suddenly lost my wife to cancer. My three boys were especially heartbroken, confused and needing all the positive energy they could possibly get. My neighborhood stepped up and helped the boys and I out tremendously. Whether it was a food train, cleaning up my yard, and fixing things around the house while we were grieving, they really stepped it up. I first heard about the JK foundation when Shawn sent me a friend request on Facebook. I really did not know it existed. To this day, I don’t even know who applied for this special donation from the JK foundation. I would like to thank whoever was thinking about our grief and us. My wife was a wonderful person who had an amazing laugh and infectious smile, I am sure she is looking down at the JK foundation, amazed at what they did for our family. A special thank you to Les Maudlin and the Hickory High School Pink Club for their unwavering support to our family as well. To see all those amazing kids supporting people in the community really moved me. Another amazing experience was meeting with other widows and widowers at the Pinkapalooza. It is always great to spend time with other people who have gone through the same experiences and how they have handled them. I will always support the JK foundation and look forward to upcoming events to help in any way that I can.

Thomas Cooper