Behind Every Firework - Brave Thoughts from the CEO and Co-Founder

Dear Brave Family,

I’ve always loved fireworks.

Maybe that’s because one of my favorite college memories happened behind the scenes of Cincinnati’s Labor Day Fireworks while I was an intern with WEBN and Clear Channel. Thousands of people gathered along the Ohio River to watch the sky explode with color, but what fascinated me most wasn’t what happened after the first shell launched. It was everything that happened before it.

Weeks of preparation. Countless people. Hundreds of details. Everyone doing their small part so families could experience a few unforgettable minutes together.

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately.

Because the most meaningful moments in life rarely happen by accident.

A few weeks ago, a couple members of our team stood quietly inside our newest Mobile Family Pet Reunion Center at Connecticut Children’s Hospital as a young boy was reunited with his dog. For ninety minutes, the monitors, medications, diagnoses, and hospital routines faded into the background. There was only a boy and his best friend finding each other again. There wasn’t a dry eye in the Pet Center.

A few days later, our Brave Kids and their best friends spent the day together at Kings Island. They laughed, rode roller coasters, and forgot about appointments, therapies, and the words “be careful” that they hear far too often. Every child deserves days when they simply get to be a kid. Sometimes play IS the therapy.

And all across the country, another Brave Kid is opening one of the thousands of books you’ve helped us place in more than 150 Ronald McDonald Houses and a few more children’s hospitals. A story may seem like a small thing until you remember what it means to escape, even for a few minutes, when your world has been reduced to hospital walls.

Those moments may last for 90 minutes.

Or an afternoon.

Or the length of a bedtime story.

But for the families living them, they become moments that last forever in their memories.

That’s why our team keeps dreaming bigger. That’s why volunteers keep showing up. That’s why supporters keep opening up doors. That’s why our summer interns are pouring themselves into projects they know will make a difference. That’s why our partners continue believing alongside us.

Not because we’re creating programs.

Because together, we’re creating moments families will never forget.

The fireworks only last a few minutes.

The memories they create last a lifetime.

Thank you for helping us create both.

Onward with bravery,

John Otten
CEO and Co-Founder
Brave Like Me Foundation 💜