Seven year-old Allie Paul had an amazing Congress this year with an NSBA Championship and third place finish in the Small Fry Showmanship. Despite her small stature, the daughter of Ohio trainers, Judd and Jennifer Paul is a firecracker who loves her horse, Genuine Sheik. Born with a genetic kidney disease, Allie is currently set to undergo a kidney transplant scheduled for the second week of November. Her mother, Jennifer, will be donating one of her kidneys for Allie’s transplant.
The Paul Family has had amazing support from the horse community, including AQHA Competitor and Congress Champion JoDee DeVillier, the founder of the June Brandy Foundation. JoDee lives in Maryland with her husband, three year-old son, Daniel, who has a renal deficiency and has undergone countless surgeries, and an infant son, Benjamin. DeVillier heard about Allie’s condition through the power of Facebook and knew she had to help a fellow horse lover.
The June Brandy Foundation, Inc.’s purpose is to help families with children who are suffering with pediatric illness, disease, disability, or other serious health conditions such as the need for organ transplant, childhood leukemia, other cancers, and mental retardation.
“It was a windy, rainy day and I was looking through Facebook and saw her story a few weeks ago,” DeVillier told GoHorseShow. “I couldn’t believe that someone in the Quarter Horse community was going through a very similar journey as my own. My son, Daniel, will eventually need a kidney transplant. I know from being a kidney mom that it can be overwhelming so I didn’t want to just reach out directly during a time of such change in their life.”
This week, the June Brandy Foundation will be sending Allie an iPad to help pass the time in the hospital, a fifty dollar iTunes gift card for games, as well as a custom ‘Frozen’ themed hospital gown and pillow case. Her gown will have her name embroidered on it to give it a personal touch, all with the color purple–her favorite. “She will be the most stylish patient in the hospital!” JoDee states. After the transplant, JoDee says they will send the family a hospital care package once Allie is out of the PICU and can accept gifts and has her own room.
“Being a special needs kidney parent is never easy,” says JoDee, who is an AQHA competitor and winner of the 2007 Congress in the Novice Amateur Hunter Under Saddle (pictured right with her family, below right in Congress photo). “It means constant worry, constant change and always hoping that your child’s best days are not behind you. All any parent wants for their child is to see them thrive, to see them happy, and when you have to watch your child struggle, in pain and many times hopeless it is hard on your heart.”
DeVillier explains in more detail what her foundation does to help families. One of their programs, Kidney Couture, provides custom hospital gowns and pillow cases for hospitalized children. Through their partnerships with 13 hospitals across the country, they sponsor Child Life programs and provide toys for their pediatric dialysis clinics and chemotherapy units.
At Christmas, the organization helps provide clothes, medical equipment (that insurance won’t cover), and toys for the entire family. Last year, for example, they provided Christmas for 78 children. Through their Sami’s Sunshine program (named for a 2 year old little girl who lost her battle with kidney disease), they send a family to Camp Sunshine for a family vacation. The foundation sends them during Camp Sunshine’s “Renal Week” and the camp provides dialysis and access to medical professionals for the whole vacation. Every family there that week has a child that is in need of a kidney transplant or has had a kidney transplant, so the kids get to meet other kids just like them. This gives the opportunity for a family vacation to a family that might not have had that ability, financially or medically.
The foundation also has an iPad program for children that are chronically hospitalized where they provide an iPad to those kids to help them pass the time in the hospital. Finally, the organization has “Wish Grant Wednesdays” for eight to ten weeks a year where they provide a special gift to a sick child in need. In the past, they have given therapeutic riding lessons, speech therapy equipment, tickets to sporting events and other things to make the life of that child just a little brighter.
When JoDee went to name the Foundation even though her son, Daniel (pictured left) was her inspiration, she said she just didn’t want to name it after him so she thought about the people who really gave her the drive to give back.
“I decided to name it after, my Nana June, and a friend that I had since I was five years old, Brandy. My Nana June taught me to love all children, to always think about when you can help and to make sure if you can give that you do just that, you give,” says JoDee who works for The Department of Treasury in Washington, DC. “My friend, Brandy, was born with a congenital heart defect and had numerous open heart surgeries throughout our childhood,” JoDee explains. “We were in each other’s weddings and shared so much but at 28 she lost her battle and God called her home.”
DeVillier continues, “Brandy lived everyday of her illness with dignity and grace and never asked why; she never blamed anyone she just tried to live the best life she could. I know that if my son lives his life with as much dignity and faith in our Lord that we will have a better path on our journey. So from that inspiration the June Brandy Foundation was born. Daniel is the child on the Rocking Horse in our logo. To me the Rocking Horse is the quid essential childhood horse toy!”
During the show season, The June Brandy Foundation holds two futurity style set of classes during shows as fundraisers. The Rocking Horse Classic is held during the NJQHA Spring Dream show in May at the Dream Park in New Jersey and the JBF Classic is held during the SMQHA SunTan Circuit in July in Upper Marlborough Maryland.
“The only reason we can do everything we do to help the families we serve is because of the generous support of the Quarter Horse community. Our generous sponsors, like the Harris Leather and Silverworks and Style Stable and so many others make our two futurities possible,” JoDee states. “The New Jersey Quarter Horse Association and Southern Maryland Quarter Horse Association gratefully host us and cover our overhead so that one hundred percent of the exhibitors’ entry fees in our classes go to help children suffering from pediatric illness/disease/disability. To help all the children we have helped, it takes a community and I am blessed to have such a wonderful, generous community supporting us, the Quarter Horse Community.”
The June Brandy Foundation is a 501c3 and all donations to the Foundation are tax deductible. They can accept gifts through PayPal ([email protected]) or checks can be mailed to PO Box 92 Hughesville, MD 20637 made payable to The June Brandy Foundation. Since it is November you can also reach out to them through their Facebook page and be matched to a child to sponsor this Christmas.
Photos © Impulse Photography, Ali Grusha Photography, Jeff Kirkbride
