Central Texas town rallies behind father battling cancer, raises $150K through fundraiser
ROBINSON, Texas (KWTX) - A small Central Texas town turned up big for a beloved 44-year-old husband and father fighting an aggressive cancer by organizing a fundraiser and raising $150,000 with an event they planned in only five weeks.
The “Jon Boy” fundraiser to help the family of Jon Lewis, of Robinson, was held at the Lee Lockwood Library & Museum in Waco Sunday.
Jon was diagnosed with stage four metastatic colorectal cancer in February.
“They’re just a great family,” friend and organizer Amber Clemmons said.
“From the get-go, anyone who knew them was sending text messages and making phone calls about ‘what can we do, what can we do?” Amber said.
Amber along with nearly a dozen other friends of the family met with Wes Waller, a Robinson resident who is known for organizing successful fundraisers.
They wanted to do something and quickly.
“When Wes said the date, I thought there is no way we could pull this off in five weeks,” Amber said.
“And we have,” fellow organizer Kati Dietzman added.
Kati is the principal of Robinson High School and works alongside Jon’s wife, Meaghan, who is a longtime teacher and coach.
The team of volunteers say there truly is no greater family to help.
Jon is an employee of McLennan County, a wonderful husband, and a great dad to their 8-year-old twins, friends say.
“You would see his kids run off the bus and run straight to dad,” Kati said. “I think of him as a dad who was picking his kids up from school one day and then very sick the next.”
Wes said that the event exceeded all expectations. After expenses, the family will be able to take home $120,000 to help with medical expenses and anything related to the unexpected battle.
“What a great turnout,” Wes said. “The Robinson community showed up and showed out and we just want to say thank you to everyone for showing up Sunday and showing the love and support for such an awesome family.”
Meaghan says that John received some good news that his tumor marker had made a significant drop the last two weeks. He’s also finished radiation and has felt “more like himself” the past couple of days.
“We’ve had to find small victories hidden in the bad news,” Meaghan said.
Meaghan said the outpouring of support from the community for the fundraiser is something the family will never forget.
“So many people and businesses came out and showed their support for Jon and our family,” she said. “We have been overwhelmed with grief and anxiety since his first diagnoses, but through this whole thing, we have been way more overwhelmed by the generosity of our community.”
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