Jacob's Hero Foundation - Shine Your Light T-Shirt Fundraiser

The Jacob’s Hero Foundation honors the legacy of Jacob Austin Grecco by funding services for families who have experienced child loss. From July 2011 when Jacob experienced his seizure and was later diagnosed with brain cancer, Gliomatosis Cerebri, until he passed away in his mother’s arms on August 1, 2012 at the tender age of 8 years old, Jacob “The Hero” Grecco was exactly that: a Hero. He laughed, he cried and he battled. That battle took his life, but never extinguished the light he shone into the world.

During the year Jacob was sick, he and his family experienced an extraordinary surge of spiritual, emotional, and material support from friends, family and their community. After his passing, his family tried to wrap their minds around the generosity (often of strangers) and how they could ever “repay” them.

However, the grief was too thick and muddled every moment of every day. Survival was learning a new way to live: to live with grief, to carry on for Jacob’s brothers, Alex and Joshua and his step-brothers, Henry and Logan.

Jacob’s family tried to find bereavement services which would specifically help their family. This turned out to be very difficult and time consuming, in large part because the first and most daunting step was to come to terms with the isolation created by such a traumatic loss. While they were sporadically able to find therapeutic outlets, there were undeniable gaps in the bereavement services available for those who have suffered the loss of a child.

They knewthat they wanted to do something in Jacob’s name, and this is where Jacob’s light pointed them. As a family, they decided to establish a foundation - Jacob’s Hero Foundation - which will ultimatelyfund a center called South of Heaven. South of Heaven will offer a refuge where families can go for a variety ofservices and support to grieve, rebuild, and move forward.