Batavia family hosts 5th annual Jay’s Hope golf tournament to benefit young adults fighting cancer

Batavia High School graduate Jay Burger died in 2016 at age 24

BATAVIA – The end of June is always a bittersweet time of the year for Batavia resident Kelly Jo Golson.

On June 25, 2016, Golson lost her 24-year-old son, Jay Burger, to Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare pediatric bone cancer. But every June, Jay’s Hope, the foundation she created to honor her son, hosts a golf tournament to raise money to help other young adults fighting cancer.

This year’s Jay’s Hope Golf Tournament is Monday, June 21 at Eagle Brook Country Club, 2288 Fargo Blvd., Geneva. The event begins with a shotgun start at 10 a.m., followed by a reception and silent auction. All of the net proceeds benefit the foundation.

“We give grants several times a year. We’re in awe of the level of support we’ve had in a short amount of time,” she said. “We’re going into our fifth year and we’re excited to accelerate and be able to help more young adults, and look for other ways to give back. We’ve given two grants in past eight months; one was to a 24-year-old battling leukemia and a 27-year-old fighting Ewing’s sarcoma.”

Golson and her family began the foundation shortly after Burger’s death, and holds other fundraisers throughout the year. The Board of Directors is made up of Golson’s husband, her two other children and several of Burger’s friends from the University of Iowa, where Burger graduated in December 2014. The only criteria to receive a grant, which the patient can use however they best see fit, is to be a young adult with a cancer diagnosis.

“There are a lot of organizations focused on pediatric cancers, but that stops at age 18,” Golson explained. “I wanted to create an organization to help college students and young adults because they fall through the cracks. They don’t often have their own insurance and no nest egg, and it stood out to me that’s an area that we could help and offer hope and joy to college students and young adults fighting any type of cancer. It’s a way for all of us to ensure his memory goes on and to be able to signify that he continues to inspire us each day. Hitting the five-year mark, we’re determined more than ever to use Jay’s Hope to continue to make a difference for those battling cancer.”

Burger graduated from Batavia High School in 2010, and was diagnosed with cancer just six weeks before graduating from college after experiencing severe back pain. Golson said initially they thought it was a muscle strain, as Burger was very athletic. But after several weeks with the pain, a scan showed a mass on his ribs.

Golson said her son “went from having the world in the palm of his hand at age 22,” to not knowing what the future held for him. He went through four or five rounds of chemotherapy, two types of radiation, proton therapy and surgery.

But throughout the arduous journey, Burger fought the disease until “his last breath.”

“He wanted to live so badly,” Golson said. “His friends were going to graduation parties and job interviews, and he was fighting for his life. There was no acceptance [of death]. He believed and had strong faith and wanted to take each day by the horns, and take every ounce of joy and living despite the pain. He left us all inspired to do more of that.”

While nothing will bring her son back, Golson said she is comforted by the fact that the foundation has brought so much joy to others fighting the same battle. She said June always brings back waves of extreme emotions, but she still enjoys catching up with Burger’s friends at the golf tournament each year.

“It’s very difficult, but also rewarding to see everyone remember Jay,” she said. “My heart will forever have a hole in it that nothing will ever fill. But to know that we helped someone in Jay’s memory lifts our spirits. We can use his memory to inspire others, and that’s a great feeling.”

For more information about the golf tournament, or other ways to get involved with the foundation, visit the foundation’s website at www.jayshope.net. An online silent auction begins on the site Thursday.