An Easy Way To Learn More About Jason’s Friends Foundation

Thankful Thursdays are special to everyone at Townsquare Media. For the next 10 Thursdays, we will all gather at the Beacon Club with Vista Auto Wyoming to host the area's original party for a purpose.

The event helps nonprofit organizations raise money for their causes. Our lineup is filled with passionate people working day and night to make a difference, and our first group is one we've had a great relationship with for years.

Jason's Friends Foundation. 

The story of the foundation began when Jason Eades was just eight years old in 1994 when he was diagnosed with a tumor on his brain stem. By the time he turned nine in the spring of 1995, the Eades family had received news that the surgery and treatments he'd been receiving had worked, and an MRI showed no signs of the tumor.

In August of 1995, the tumor returned, and unfortunately, Jason passed away in November of that year at the age of 9.

The following year, in 1996, the Eades family started Jason's Friends Foundation to keep Jason's memory alive and to help others face the battles the family had encountered a couple of years before.

Jason’s Friends Foundation assists families across the state of Wyoming with children from birth through the age of 20 who have been diagnosed with cancer, brain tumors or spinal cord tumors.

In the early days, the foundation had little money, but that didn't stop Rocky and Lisa Eades from helping. They would help in any way they could. It started by preparing food or helping with daily tasks, but they realized the families were being financially drained.

In 1998, the annual bowl for Jason's Friends began and continues to be the organization's biggest fundraising event of the year. Other fundraisers, including Thankful Thursday and those who elect to help via the "planned giving" option, also help to keep the mission alive.

Throughout the last 28 years, over $7.7 Million in financial assistance has been given to families whose children have been affected by cancer, brain tumors, or spinal cord tumors.

Jason's Friends Foundation is one of the organizations in Casper that continues to represent Wyoming's desire to care for others.

You can help keep Jason's memory alive by attending Thankful Thursday and bidding on items or visiting Jason's Friends.org to find other ways to give.