How One Boy’s Wish Benefits Thousands: The Jonathan Dale Miller Foundation

By Fern Gavelek

A nine-year-old boy has left a legacy that’s been helping Hawai‘i Island’s needy families since 1999. To date, the Jonathan Dale Miller Foundation has personally touched approximately 4,000 families, affecting 15,000 underprivileged keiki (children) and 500 kūpuna (elders).

The story of the foundation began in 1998 when Jonathan Miller of Gilbert, Arizona starting seeing double. The youth was a strapping boy who loved life. He spent his summers in Kona with his grandparents, George and Sharon Handgis of Keauhou.

Jonathan was diagnosed with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a rare, terminal brain disease. During discussions with his family and doctors, the youth asked if he was going to die and doctors told Jonathan the difficult truth, answering “yes.”

Jonathan Inspires Formation of Nonprofit

Described by his grandmother as a “warm, sensitive, and loving child,” Jonathan told family “not to be sad, they will never lose him…that his spirit will burn like a bright light in their hearts forever.” When asked if he had any special wishes, Jonathan answered, “You mean like a last wish?” He added, “I want to feed the hungry and give toys to children at Christmas who would usually not receive any.”

And that’s just what the Jonathan Dale Miller Foundation (JDMF) does—and more.

Jonathan passed away 14 months after his diagnosis, but before he left this world on February 1, 2000, he signed his name—for the last time—on the 501(c)3 nonprofit’s incorporation form. JDMF was co-founded by his grandparents and Kona attorney Darl Gleed, whose son, Mitchell, was Jonathan’s best friend in Kona.

Fulfilling Jonathan’s Wish to Help Others

For the first few years, JDMF focused on providing food boxes for families at Thanksgiving and Christmas, along with holiday toys and clothing. The effort was coordinated in a large warehouse and involved more than 200 volunteers, who called themselves “Jonathan’s Helpers.” Hundreds of gift boxes were brightly hand-painted to give them a festive look. One year, more than 500 families received a gaily decorated box.

“We recruited volunteers by word of mouth and also contacted the school district superintendent to ask for helpers,” notes Sharon. “Boxes were especially painted with butterflies and rainbows, things Jonathan loved the most, by groups like the Boy Scouts, 4-H, schools, and churches.”

Recipients were identified by schools, public health nurses, and social service agencies. Sharon emphasizes that suggested families were contacted and vetted, to ensure they received what they needed.

Each family had their own set of circumstances. One time, Jonathan’s Helpers was searching for a needy family living in a plywood lean-to. One of the residents was a 12-year-old girl who had painted stars inside their humble abode to celebrate Christmas.

“After realizing their situation, we provided them with food, clothes, and gifts—and Sharon took the girl to a hair salon,” remembers George. “At first, she walked with her head down with no hope in the world, but this girl later became president of her class.”

Sharon adds that the girl was a gifted and talented student living with her father and sister, and needed a little guidance. “The family was working with a social worker at the time and the father walked to work so we gave him a bicycle.”

Other holiday projects have including delivering holiday dinners and food boxes to residents of Hualalai Senior Housing. During its 10th and 11th years, JDMF hosted massive holiday meals that filled Kona’s Old Airport Pavilion complete with entertainment and boxes of food—giveaways totaled over 60,000 pounds of food.

Efforts Evolve over the Years

During its two decades of operation, JDMF has broadened its efforts to include more than holiday cheer. “Every year it seems like Jonathan puts an idea in my mind of what we need to do—who needs help,” smiles Sharon.

Jonathan’s Helpers have brought a hot lunch and supervised activities—during school breaks—to youth living in low-income housing. These parties are done randomly after JDMF identifies a need.

“We go into the housing project with a portable kitchen, and tell the kids we’re throwing a birthday party for Jonathan,” details George. “They get a hot dog and piece of birthday cake, and it allows them to feel like the special people they are.”

“We touch people from all walks of life, people who can’t make ends meet for whatever reason,” notes Sharon. “These are hard-working people that just need a break and we feel it’s important they know they are not alone.”

Last year JDMF helped with relief efforts in conjunction with island flooding and the East Rift Zone Eruption. These are called Random Acts of Kindness and are done year-round. Sharon says help is provided island-wide once a need is identified. “During this year’s summer school break we focused on food and donated to organizations that were helping families in need across the island.”

Holiday helping has evolved over the years and currently JDMF takes chosen families on shopping trips to buy what they need. Families—parents, guardians, grandparents, and children—go shopping with Jonathan’s Helpers. Families list kids’ names and ages and are invited to meet helpers at the store to choose necessities and the foundation (Sharon) pays for them at the register. There is a limit of $100 per child for clothing and necessities, and up to $50 per child for the gifts of their choice. Parents are also gifted with a $100 KTA gift certificate, exempt from alcohol and tobacco, that is purchased by JDMF.

Footing the Bill

Where does all the money come from to pay for food, clothing, and gifts? Sharon says JDMF raises its own money; it is not subsidized by government funds. “It’s all by word of mouth, the kindness of friends and family,” she shares. George adds some donations come in—$5 and $10—from families who have been previously assisted. “This happens very often,” he adds.

And while there have been fundraisers in the past—a golf tournament or dinner at a private home—these haven’t been done for a while and there aren’t plans for doing more any time soon.

“We think word of mouth is pretty effective in getting donations,” explains George. “We are sometimes anonymous and under the radar in what we do for others, as Jonathan said: ‘Angel wings beat silently.’ And so, we don’t wish to be the biggest or loudest, but rather strive to be the most effective. We just encourage others to pay it forward.”

Sharon says 100% of donations go toward funding and facilitating projects. There is no payroll and 10 volunteers perform administrative duties.

“To continually source volunteers, we meet people throughout the year and make connections. We have teachers helping and we try to get people from the communities we service. We are heavily involved with Holualoa School.”

The couple says the foundation is established in perpetuity and a succession plan has been developed for continuing for the next generation.

Involvement Benefits Volunteers

George says his foundation involvement over the past 20 years “is a reaffirmation that being rich is not about what you have, but rather who walks beside you.” He shares that some of the beneficiaries of Jonathan’s aloha “begin to feel the same way.”

Volunteer Paulette Wilson of Hilo, who helped with Random Acts of Kindness, says, “People on the receiving end of these Acts were surprised and very, very thankful. What a beautiful feeling it is to see the reactions of appreciation, happiness, and gratefulness on their faces.”

Bill Wilson of Hilo relays that his experience helping during last year’s holiday season “just touched my heart to be a part of something so special. The thank you, the hug, the smile of both parents and children will last a lifetime with me.”

George adds that he’s learned how gratifying it is to help improve another’s quality of life. “It has allowed me to look at the world through a child’s eyes and not be cynical or jaded,” he says. “It’s also helped me realize there is such goodness in the world.”

Keeping Jonathan’s Spirit Alive

For Sharon, carrying out her late grandson’s wish is “effortless” and it keeps her connected to him. She likes to reflect on things Jonathan said after finding out his illness was terminal. They include: “No tears—you will never be able to miss me,” and “My spirit will burn like a bright light in your heart forever.” For Sharon, recalling her grandson’s sayings enables her “to feel him with me shoulder-to-shoulder, side-by-side every step of the way.”

Sharon finds doing Jonathan’s work healing, rewarding, and uplifting. She explains, “It has given me the opportunity to look into the eyes of many parents and children. What I see and experience is the incredible difference one unselfish boy’s wish has made on the lives of many…Jonathan said, ‘No matter what you have, or where you come from, we are the same, and should help each other.’”

In its 20th year, the Jonathan Dale Miller Foundation is teaching others to reach further than their own back yard. His wish continues to circle the entire island like a lei of love, sharing his story. ❖

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For more information:
jonathansfoundation.org
facebook.com/Jonathans-Helpers

Photos courtesy of the Jonathan Dale Miller Foundation