The Jessica Moorhead Foundation for Hope is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Our mission on behalf of the Mahoning Valley and surrounding communities is ensuring that children and adolescents with various types of cancer and chronic blood disorders receive excellent medical care and support services right here at home.
Our focus is uniting the community to achieve this vision. Our programs and events mobilize and focus community assets directly on the needs of patients—the need to keep their precious time both normal and vibrant, to learn and discover their wings, to enjoy time with family, to be part of a community, and to hold on to their hopes and dreams for a bright future.
Our Goals
● Share the vision and make memories
● Strengthen community partnerships on behalf of patients
● Make treatment as comfortable and pleasant as possible
● Support the important role of families
● Support patients’ educational progress
● Support quality after-care services
Our Story
The official beginning of the Jessica Moorhead Foundation for Hope was October 2003—when Dr. Ayman Saleh, director of the Children’s Care Center for Blood and Cancer, and Jenifer Moorhead began to plan an organization in memory of sixteen-year-old Jessica, who lived life to the fullest and fought leukemia with courage and grace.
But the seed was planted much earlier.
In 1999, this beautiful thirteen-year-old girl and her parents, Jenifer and Jeff, decided that they could not imagine a better physician than Dr. Ayman Saleh and a more caring group of medical professionals than those they found right at home in Youngstown, Ohio.
The community rallied around Jessica—sending cards, giving blood, lining up to be tested as potential bone marrow donors, and helping with the costs of her transplant. And the caring of her community gave her a hope and a vision of what people can do when they care and come together.
And it was a hope that gave life to a dream. Jessica dreamed of doing something when she was free of cancer to bring hope to other children and to help make sure that every child in the Mahoning Valley and surrounding areas could be treated at home—close to family and friends. We are committed to realizing her heartfelt dream.
Let Your Dreams Fly Kite Festival
Saturday, April 25
10-5 in
Austintown Township Park
The Jessica Moorhead Foundation for Hope is holding its third biennial “Let Your Dreams Fly” Kite Festival at Austintown Township Park on Saturday, April 25. The fun starts at 10:00 a.m. and ends at 5:00.
At only $5 per car, you can’t find a better bargain for the whole family—AND you’ll be helping pediatric cancer patients being treated in our community.
Just imagine:
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Hobbyists from three states will fill the sky with an array of artistic kites and the grounds will be alive with the color and rhythm of fluttering banners!
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Kite experts will thrill you with the “Battle of the Rocs” and other stunts.
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Your kids can design their own kites at a kite workshop and then fly them in the “Learn to Fly” field—and they can enjoy face painting, life-sized Candyland game, and other fun kids’ games and activities.
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The whole family can join in the karaoke and American Idol competition or just enjoy the food, the fresh air, and the sight of kids at play.
Many of the kids' activities and all the kite displays are free.
The Jessica Moorhead Foundation for Hope
The Jessica Moorhead Foundation for Hope, established in 2003 in memory of a remarkable sixteen-year-old, mobilizes Northeast Ohio businesses and citizens to ensure that the small but excellent Children's Care Center for Blood and Cancer continues to be available to local children and adolescents with cancer and chronic blood disorders. We also create programs that help meet patients' social and educational needs and involve patients and their families in community events that make special memories.
Our focus is meeting the needs of patients and families through:
* Hope on Wheels: A program that provides assistance with transportation and other incidental costs.
* Friendship Day: An annual day of fun for pediatric cancer patients and survivors and their families
* Holiday Delights: An annual holiday party with gifts for all cancer patients and their siblings
We are able to hold our events and operate our programs through the generosity of businesses, community groups, and individual citizens in the Mahoning Valley. Thanks to Tiffany's Bar & Grille for donating proceeds from their Charity Golf Outing in August and to Creekside Fitness and Health Center for holding a Fun and Fitness fundraiser in April. Thanks to the employees and management of Schroedel, Scullin & Bestic, Home Savings, Don Booth Carpet, the Fifth Season Restaurant, and other businesses for supporting our patients time and time again. Thanks to the many wonderful citizens who donate, come to our fundraisers, and volunteer.
