There are tons of worthy and fantastic charitable organizations throughout our great city. I want to let you know about one of them. It's called Father's Joy. You can read more about the organization here: http://fathersjoy.org/ but I will give you a brief story about how I came in contact with the charity.
I married into a great group of friends with my wife Allyson. Among them are Kristin and Shannon Tassin who have a family we could all stand to emulate. The Tassin's oldest daughter Abby was born with Down Syndrome. On a day that should have been met with great celebration, they were given overly negative, devastating news about what their child could not achieve. The hospital had no literature or counseling available to assist the parents of a special needs child. Through the power of prayer and the incredible will of this family, the Tassin's vowed to help other parents have a better parenthood experience than they did and to remind the entire world what special gifts each child brings into the world regardless of his or her disability.
I can tell you that Abby is one of the happiest 11 year olds I know. She is thriving in her public school classroom and participates/enjoys all the same activities of everyone her age. She is proof of God's love for every child and the shining star of what Father's Joy is all about.
But that's just scratching the surface of the story of my passion for the Tassin's work.
Most of you know me as the slightly sarcastic, sometimes hard-headed wind bag that wakes up every morning with you on Sports Talk 790. Well, to be fair, all of that is true. There's also a part of me that likes to go out, party, and hang with the 'fellas at the local watering hole (drinking a Bud Light of course). Now let me fill in you on the part of me I haven't talked about on the air. I was also almost a father.
My wife and I are looking forward to being parents someday. We thought that someday was 2 years ago. We were expecting our 1st child when a doctor told my wife that something didn't look right on one of her tests. The doctor could not determine exactly what was wrong, but suspected that our child had a birth defect. The doctor tried to convince her to end the pregnancy, but we told them we would love our child unconditionally and wanted to have the baby. Unfortunately we lost our child a month later.
It was a devastating blow to us and my sorrow was later accompanied with anger when we met with a "genetic counselor" at the behest of my wife's physician. I could not believe the negativity and discouragement coming from this trained professional when it came to the idea of raising a special needs child. It's just not right for anyone to tell a parent or a child that there is no hope.
There's a small part of us that will probably always be missing, but it also reinforces our belief that all children are a precious gift given by God that should be given every opportunity to fulfill their potential regardless of the obstacles in front of them.
This is why we play....
You can sign up with a team of 4 or just bring yourself!
We will have a nice breakfast beginning at 730am with an 830am shotgun start.
We'll have some killer door prizes for many of our lucky golfers and the winning teams will be walking away with a pretty sophisticated piece of electronics. Hint: YOU WILL LOVE it!
Golfers can buy million dollar raffle tickets ahead of the tournament for $20 by emailing info@fathersjoy.org
Private Lunch for 2 with Rockets GM Daryl Morey and Matt Jackson
Private Lunch for 2 with Jeff Van Gundy and Matt Jackson
Private Lunch for 2 with Eric Winston and Matt Jackson
Hole and gallery sponsorships are still available. If there is any way you would like to contribute to this great cause, we appreciate all of your support. If you sign up yourself or a foursome to play, before May 4th, you will be entered in a drawing for you and a friend to be my guest at an Astros game. (Food and Drink Included). Just write 790 in the comments section when you sign up to play!
http://fathersjoy.org/golf/sponsorship.php
All proceeds for golf and silent auction items benefit the wonderful programs of Father's Joy. http://fathersjoy.org/programs.htm
I can't express enough my heart felt thanks for your consideration of Father's Joy and The 5th Annual Father's Joy Charity Golf Classic. We plan to have a great day of golf and fellowship and to raise money for a great cause. For more information or to sign up for the golf tournament call 281-630-2885 or click here: http://fathersjoy.org/golf/sponsorship.php
From the bottom of my heart I thank you for taking a few minutes to hear our story- Matt Jackson
No comments:
Post a Comment