FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Author, Advocate, and Adventure-Seeker JT JESTER to Host 62 Mile Stand Up Paddle Board Fundraising Event Following Release of First Children’s Book.
Event and portion of book sales to raise funds to support families with children battling congenital colorectal conditions and extreme learning disabilities.
Detroit, MI – Best-selling author, speaker, advocate, and adventure-seeker JT Jester continues to defy the odds, announcing his next fund-raising challenge – stand-up paddle boarding 62 miles through the waterways of Detroit. Starting at the Blue Water Bridge (Port Huron) and ending at the Belle Isle Bridge (Detroit), The BlueBelle SPU Challenge is set to take place in late September (date determined by weather), and seeks to raise $62,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities and other nonprofits that partner with the JT Mestdagh Foundation.
“We hope that we can use this adventure to raise funds, bring awareness, and support to families facing incredible financial hardships and stress caused by specific medical and educational issues,” JT shares. “My parents wouldn’t settle for less than world-class care for me, and so we spent much of my childhood living at Ronald McDonald Houses. We want to help ease this burden for families, and let parents just concentrate on helping and healing their children.”
In addition to this event, a portion of the proceeds from JT’s newly released children’s book, How the Sailfish Got its Name, will also be funneled back to fund the work of the JT Mestdagh Foundation.
How the Sailfish Got its Name was written when JT was just seven years old and receiving treatments for his medical condition.
“I want to share my story so people who feel alone and discouraged might feel well, less alone and more confident,” JT shares.
It is not an exaggeration to call JT a medical miracle. By the time he was three years old, JT had spent 250 days being treated at St. John’s Hospital and endured sixteen major surgeries at various hospitals including St John’s and Children’s Hospital of Michigan before he was sixteen. Diagnosed with VATER/VACTERL Syndrome, a rare combination of several birth defects, JT’s life was anything but easy.
On top of his physical challenges, he suffered dyslexia and short-term memory loss, which made learning nearly impossible for him. Yet JT pushed past his physical and educational roadblocks to achieve what many people told him he would never do—learn to read, graduate from University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe, graduate college, and become a successful motivational speaker, bestselling author, and influential podcast host.
In early 2022, Jester released NO BAD DAYS: How to Find Joy in Any Circumstance (Forefront Books). In NO BAD DAYS, JT details the incredible story of how he overcame what seemed like insurmountable odds and shares the many invaluable lessons he has learned throughout his life in the hope that others might reach their full potential. These lessons include how to Find Your Tribe, Pull Off the Label, Stretch Yourself, Listen to Others, and Learn to Fall. He also parallels inspiring stories of everyday people who have overcome incredible difficulties. JT invites us into his incredible journey of finding joy in all circumstances and holding tightly to faith.
JT continues, “I hope you’ll join us in the BlueBelle SUP Challenge. Through this 62-mile paddle, I pray that we can create an experience that inspires people to do what seems impossible, and use every inch of our resources and energy to help and encourage others.”
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About JT Jester: JT Jester is a motivational speaker, young entrepreneur, philanthropist, author, and podcaster, based in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. A graduate of High Point University in North Carolina, JT is also an experienced mountaineer, extreme skier, boater, hunter, and adventurer who has made it his life mission to encourage people to untether from natural or self-imposed limitations and live full, passionate lives.
Born with life-threatening VATER/VACTERL syndrome, as well as extreme dyslexia and short-term memory loss, he established the JT Mestdagh Foundation to bring encouragement, joy, and laughter to people with physical and learning disabilities and their families. JT hopes that through sharing his life experiences and other people’s stories, people will be reminded there truly are no bad days and to never give up.
Mission Statement of the JT Mestdagh Foundation
By reaching up and reaching out, the JT Mestdagh Foundation sees a world changed and improved by children with congenital colorectal issues who receive world-class medical care, those with dyslexia and other learning disabilities to excel with the best possible educational testing, mentoring, and tutoring, especially using the Tattum Reading Program. The foundation also envisions these young people’s families, caregivers, and educators surrounded with love and hope as well as practical tools and creative strategies to ease the demands that no one should face alone.