March 15, 2023
Hello! Welcome to our first blog post. We just wanted to share some of what we have accomplished recently due to your generous support.
Following our last Dodge for Josh Dodge Ball Tournament in early March of 2020, we felt compelled to return all the proceeds back into our local community. So, we donated $5,000 to the Irondequoit Community Cupboard, Inc. and $5,000 to the West Irondequoit Foundation (supporting the West Irondequoit Central School District).
We were able to assist a number of families with their child’s funeral expenses. To date, we have donated more than $65,000 to funeral. Also, emotional grief support continued to be provided by myself and my husband, Pat. Phone calls, grief packet mailings, and in-person or zoom chats, still occurred throughout the pandemic.
Sadly, we could not hold in-person gatherings during the lockdown. However, we began to meet in person again in October 2022 to hold new grief events, including our Fall Bereaved Parent Get-Together and in December 2022 we held the Ceremony of Remembrance. Just spending time with other grieving parents gives solace to us all.
We continue to recognize and reward West Irondequoit students by sponsoring the “Heart for Art” and “Life Worth Living” Awards each year. To date, 57 students have received the well-earned recognition for their kindness, love of learning, and spirit, all in memory of Joshua.
One of our most exciting accomplishments is this beautiful and fresh new website!! Thanks to the amazing assistance from Evolution Marketing, we launched this new site in October 2022!! It is full of grief literature, support group information, and words of wisdom from our foundation, our family, and many other local agencies and organizations in our area.
Please take a moment to visit the other pages on this website and feel free to click on any of the other agencies’ links, as well. At Josh Rojas Foundation, our goal is to support grieving families who have lost their greatest gift in life… their child. However, we realize that support can and should be found in many places and in many ways. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you know of any other organizations, coping strategies, etc. that you feel should be included on this site. It will always remain a work in progress so we can best support all of you! We can be reached by calling tel:585-629-6660 or by emailing us through our secure contact page.