Our founders Dustin Cesarek, Justin Nicolay, and Kyle Woody in 2015 pictured here with Tom Trefethen, the first caregiver who asked for our help.

As the year comes to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on the incredible individuals and organizations who have made a difference at Jack’s Caregiver Coalition. From sharing stories that inspire, to providing unwavering support behind the scenes, these contributions fuel our mission and create ...

When people think of the holidays, one of the first things they focus on is the scrumptious meals and treats that have long been a part of their festivities. For Caregivers and Sequel Makers, this can become an added stressor as they feel the expectation of replicating past holiday meals. The first ...

My Story My husband, Dan, was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer on our third wedding anniversary. That was the first of many celebrations that were never the same. Rather than celebrating another year together with many more to look forward to, we found ourselves counting years of survival, never ...

At Jack’s Caregiver Coalition, we’re passionate about supporting caregivers and celebrating their strength. In 2025, we’re launching One Million Strong, an ambitious campaign aiming to raise $1 million by 2026 and positively impact one million guy caregivers by 2035. T hi s initiative will ...

At Jack’s Caregiver Coalition, our passion for helping Caregivers runs deep. Every day, we see the extraordinary strength it takes to be a Caregiver, and we’re committed to being a community where Caregivers can find the support they need. For #GivetotheJacksDay on November 21st, we aim to raise ...

I like community events where I can be at a table and talk to the people who most need to know about what we can offer. Being a part of the nonprofit world for the past 15 years has taught me what to expect at these events and how to maximize downtime. Having a table at a community event is ...

Reflecting on The Big GIVE last year, two moments stand out. Moment 1 Standing with Mike McGarry in his driveway in Woodbury, MN on July 6th 2023 after we had mobilized a team of encouragers to show up at his house.

It was the day before Thanksgiving. In Norfolk, Virginia, in 2011, when my wife Sarah was diagnosed with Colon Cancer. She was only 34 years old. We had just celebrated our second son’s first birthday. About a year later, some friends from California traveled across the country to spend a week with ...

Navigating the challenges of caregiving can often feel overwhelming, especially for those just beginning their journey. That’s where Jack’s Caregiver Coalition steps in with its innovative Jack-to-Jack coaching program. At its core, this program connects individuals who have firsthand experience in ...

Mike Dykema joined Jack’s in August 2023. Mike saw that he was heading for heartache and knew that he needed the kind of help that only a someone unfamiliar to him, but with a similar experience could tackle. I remember sitting down with Mike just days after the loss of his wife, Emily. He was ...

We are proud to announce that Dr. Jean Accius has officially begun his term as our newest Board Chair. Jean’s connection with our coalition dates back to 2016 when he stumbled upon us while conducting groundbreaking research on male family caregivers at AARP. His work culminated in the publication ...

We are pleased to announce that we have purchased a trailer. In its current form, it’s basically the shell of our future mobile kitchen. Caregiver, Fred Sklenar has created a brilliant and detailed plan to trick out the trailer, giving us all the features we will need to execute Storm Chaser’s ...

On my first day as part of the Jack's team, my first official duty at Jack's was to attend a Caregiver Klatch at (the now, sadly, shuttered) Common Roots in Uptown Minneapolis. It was at the tail end of summer and traffic was thick because we Minnesotan's love our State Fair. I knew it was a ...

Super-Volunteers Mark Mattson and Roger Miller There’s volunteer work and there’s super-volunteer work… We at Jack’s ask a lot of our volunteers and it’s just not the same as a one-and-done afternoon at a food shelf. Not only do our volunteers show up to serve our caregivers and Sequel Makers, but ...

Although Ericis ten years younger than me,he is one month my senior in grief. His wife, Melissa, died on June 1, 2023, from complications caused Fanconi Anemia (FA), a condition she’d lived with her entire life. FA is a bone marrow failing disease and DNA breakage syndrome. People with this ...

Heather began volunteering for Jack’s Caregiver Coalition early on as a Caregiver Klatch facilitator. She was a caregiver for her husband who lived with lung cancer for 7 years. She is a writer and an avid forager of mushrooms and other wild edibles. She has a dog named Molly and a cat named Kitty ...

The Sequel Makers First Pitch Party On August 30th, 2023 (National Grief Awareness Day) The need for Sequel Makers started at our Caregiver Klatches in 2019, when more and more we would hear from Caregivers who had lost their loved ones that they didn't feel like they belonged, that they were on ...

Click here to make a year-end donation in honor of a who's who that we're grateful for Staff that both show up with Starbucks for everyone AND make loud buzzer noises when we’re wrong. Janet (our office puppy) for his “carpet scoots” during our team meetings.

Jeff Myhre I love making stuff happen. So I was particularly excited on a sunny unseasonably warm Monday morning to welcome Heather Erickson into my home to pilot one of the new Sequel Makers initiatives.

The Erickson Family in 2016 On our third anniversary, we learned that my husband, Dan, had stage IV lung cancer and could expect to live another 6 months. Three years later, he was still alive, wounded from non-stop chemo, but walking. At this point, I was exhausted. I was homeschooling our three ...

Mike McGarry and Jeanette Carle hoisting the big check at The Big GIVE on September 28th, 2023. The goal of The Big GIVE this year was to raise $125,000 to fund an entirely new program in 2024 we call Storm Chasers. Our incredible community of donors responded to the challenge, raising over ...

I’ve asked you so many times for your support, in so many ways, over the past 6 years, as we fought Tracy's cancer. And you’ve always responded. I’m asking you once again to support me in supporting Jack's Caregiver Coalition as they launch ‘ Storm Chasers,’ a new program intended to support ...

In 2011 I was living in Virginia and my wife Sarah was diagnosed with colon cancer. Photo taken one month after Sarah's diagnosis. In 2013, we moved from Norfolk, Virginia to Eagan, Minnesota. Our boys Merrick and Lachlan were 6 and 3, and Sarah had stage 4 colon cancer.

This was the second year that Jack's Caregiver Coalition was the recipient of the funds raised at the Swing Back at Cancer annual golf tournament. Over the past 10 years this generous organization has raised over $300,000 and donated all the proceeds to a local cancer organization. The second year ...

The Jack’s staff has been studying a book called Unreasonable Hospitality about the food and drink service industry and are applying it to the work that we do. Our new home for Klatches and newest community partner Jill Pavlak at the Urban Growler in St. Paul seems to have read the book too… or ...

My personal post caregiving journey is deeply tied to the art (yes art) of improv. My wife passed away in July of 1997 a short 9 months after our wedding and I was lost in a sea of pessimism and anger. I was an actor with a day job at the time and was lucky enough to audition for The Brave New ...