Jay’s Kids was founded as a way to honor the memory of my son, Justin, or Jay Alan, as he was known as a radio DJ.    I was a 21-year-old single mom when he was born; essentially, we grew up together.   Losing him in 2022 devastated me, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to continue, especially surviving the holidays.   The holidays were always special to us, even though we didn’t have much when he was little.  In 1988, when Justin was 5, we were “adopted” for Christmas by someone that worked in the same office I did.   Ghostbusters were big that year, but as a single mom, I didn’t have the money to get him as much as I would have liked.  I can still remember his face when he opened all those Ghostbuster toys that she had given him.   Once we were financially able to, Justin and I started our own tradition of giving back to children at Christmas.    Many years we picked our kids together (he always took a boy, and I always picked a girl), we shopped together (he always bought his kids cool toys and asked that I shopped for the clothes and practical gifts for them), and we both looked forward to this tradition every Christmas season, even when he was deployed in the Middle East as a Marine.   That first Christmas after Justin passed away in June of 2022, I didn’t know what to do with myself.   We had adopted a family at work, and I shopped for a boy and girl.  I decided then that the next year I would do something more in memory of Justin, and I decided that I wanted it to be called Jay’s Kids.   Justin loved his elementary school, McEbright, and made lifelong friends at that school, with many coming to his memorial.    I wanted to start Jay’s Kids by giving back to the school he loved.   I spoke to the dedicated folks at McEbright, and they were thrilled to have us help their kids.   Last year, I talked with my family, coworkers, and a few close friends, and we were able to adopt 20 children from 6 families!!!   We are so excited to see what Jay’s Kids can do and how many more children and families we can touch. I never found out who that kind and generous lady was that made that Christmas so special for Justin and me, so I never got to thank her. I like to think that by paying it forward to other children and families, I am thanking her for the impact she made on our lives, while honoring Justin’s memory.  Jay’s Kids is committed to enriching the lives of children so that Justin’s legacy of generosity and kindness lives on.

~Brenda McHenry, mother of Justin