Meet Joey, or as he was first introduced to me, “Teacher Joey”. I knew from the interactions I saw while picking my little sister up from after-school care that Joey genuinely cares about the children he works with and takes his position in their life seriously. My mom, his colleague, let me know he’s a reliable coworker and awesome with the kids. I was glad to know that my little sister was lucky enough to have him as a guide, role-model, and simply a caring human in their life, as well as for all of the other kids he worked with.

Not too long later I learned that Joey had to take 9 weeks off of work to undergo chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer that he last experienced 1 year before.

I reached out to Joey who let me know that although he is grateful that there is treatment available for his abdominal seminoma, the physical, financial, and mental toll of the whole process has been overwhelming. He is doing his best to manage the cost of his treatment while also trying to meet his daily expenses, and bravely admitted that he is struggling without the steady income he had.

Your donation can make a huge difference in Joey's life. The $7,000 goal of this gofundme is the amount Joey estimated he needs to be able to make ends meet and cover extra treatment expenses until he’s back to work. With your help, Joey can be relieved of some stress so that he can focus on healing. He's looking forward to getting back to work, being able to go to arcades with his girlfriend, and enjoying his own collection of retro and classic video games.

Joey is originally from Long Island, New York, and we’re lucky to have him here in Seattle - he told me he was a very reserved, risk-averse kid, then broke out of his shell and started moving further and further west, eventually landing here while also discovering his path in childcare.

Kids are figuratively and literally the future, and the fact that people like Joey exist who really care, listen, and get to know the kids we love in order to help them feel valued and safe to be themselves every day of the week makes us very lucky and actually makes the world a better place.

Thank you for considering a donation to help Joey in this difficult time. Your support means so much, and will make a huge difference in his life. Let's show Joey how much we care and support him in this difficult time. Thank you for considering a donation and/or sharing. Let's help Joey beat cancer.

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Edit: After 2 years of being cancer-free, we increased the goal by $9,000 (from the previous total of $8,305 raised from the original goal of $7,000) and here is why:

Joey has been working tirelessly to rebuild his life, but there are long-term impacts of beating cancer, continued medical costs, and that along with having to piece together work opportunities in a highly competitive city like Seattle have made it challenging to get past this setback. Despite all of this, Joey remains hopeful and is motivated to focus on his career now that his health is much more stable.

Your support will help him out of survival mode so he can continue to build his life and thrive. Thank you for standing by him this far.