A Fishing Wish Come True
Vacations that heal… Memories that last… The mission of Wisconsin’s Just Jess Foundation is to provide families from Wisconsin who have a parent with a medically confirmed critical cancer diagnosis the chance to go on a vacation. The patient, their partner (or an adult support person) and their children are funded by the Foundation.
Why fund family vacations? Because during the last year of her life Jess Haag, her husband Steve and their three children under 4 years of age seized the moment and created lasting family memories on vacations away from the daily cancer routine and Steve wanted to do the same in Jess’ memory for other parents experiencing critical cancer diagnoses.
When Jeremy Zahringer was accepted by the Just Jess Foundation, his wish was to go on a fishing trip with his wife Jenny and four children.
Following are excerpts taken from a Just Jess communication:
After exploring 4 or 5 different vacation options, the Zahringer family was it finding it tough to locate just the right spot…until they discovered Belgrade Lakes, Maine. What happened next was nothing short of amazing:
When he was contacted about a pontoon boat rental and heard about the program, Bob Gardiner, owner of Great Pond Marina, donated the entire rental and helped find a local fishing guide. Bob’s son, Adam, Adam’s wife Stephanie and his business partner donated the use of a house on Great Pond — a restored 1910 home with kayaks, yard games, a fire pit and more.
Stephanie, who works for Lakepoint/Portside Real Estate along with her team stocked the kitchen with all of the family’s favorite groceries and snacks and filled a welcome basket with Maine-made goodies and gift certificates.
Bob leases part of his marina to Sadie’s Boathouse Restaurant and he and the chef treated the Zahringer family to a farewell dinner.
There is much more to the generosity of the community. (See the list to the left.) And their support didn’t bless just one family. Because of their kindness, Just Jess Foundation can now send another family on vacation, too.
For the Zahringer family, the Belgrade Lakes experience happened at the perfect time. When the family returned home it was discovered that Jeremy had a new tumor on his spine and had to undergo another operation.
For the family the trip is something they will always remember. For Jeremy it is a fishing wish come true.
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