The Bo Pelini Foundation annually supports local charities and has Supported Make A Wish with monetary donations in 2008 and 2011 and also annually has representatives attend the Big Red Dinner and supports the Nebraska Make A Wish child with unique Husker experiences.
This year Bo and Mary Pat quickly formed a special relationship with 13-year old Justice and her family when they met at the Big Red Dinner at the Cornhusker Hotel on July 24, 2012. Recently, the Bennett family which includes Justice, Dad Levi, Mom Christy and brother Cy, went to Hawaii, a dream fulfilled by Make A Wish. After discovering Justice had never been to a Husker game, Bo and Mary Pat granted that wish as well.
Since then, Justice has been a regular in Memorial Stadium, attending several Husker games as the special guest of the Pelini Family. After the third game of the season when Coach Pelini fell ill and had to go to the hospital, he was peppered with questions from the local media at his weekly press conference, which prompted the young teen to write a poem titled “Snoopy Press” with a little assistance from her mom, Christy. Posted with her permission, Justice has added “poet” to her repertoire.
Justice said she wrote the poem because, “The press was hounding Coach Pelini like Sam-I-Am did in Green Eggs and Ham. They kept asking him the same thing over and over again even though he kept telling them his was fine. And I thought it would make Mary Pat smile.”
Justice’s mother, Christy Bennett, said that Justice is doing well, but her struggles will never be over. Justice has to sleep with oxygen and has undergone open heart surgery among others.
“We’ve known for years that heart surgery will be part of her life. So, we just try to take it day by day and just keep living,” Bennett said during a recent news conference. “We could just have a sick child every single day or we could have a child that is so incredibly special to our family and just enjoy every day with her and we choose to do that.”
Christy also said that because of Make A Wish and the Bo Pelini Foundation, this has been a very special year for Justice. “I feel like we’ve gained another family with the Pelini’s and the UNL Football Coaching Staff. They’ve really taken us under their wings and brought so much joy to our lives. Our first game is something I will never forget. It was perfect. All our worries just disappeared and we were a normal family for a few hours. I wish everyone could see how blessed we are to have such a wonderful group working with our team.”
If you would like to make a donation in Justice’s honor as the Bo Pelini Foundation did, please consider the UNL Dance Marathon/Omaha Children’s Hospital, Make A Wish, the March of Dimes or the Bo Pelini Foundation.
After the Idaho State game, Justice attended Coach Pelini’s postgame press conference and tested out the microphone for him.
Justice and her mother Christy throw the bones after the Idaho State game.
Justice has become a huge fan of the Huskers and Coach Pelini and wrote a poem in his honor.
Bad, Sick and Stressed
That Snoopy Press,
That Snoopy Press,
I do not like that Snoopy Press.
I do not feel them, Snoopy Press.
I do not feel bad, sick and stressed.
I would not feel them here or there.
I would not feel them anywhere.
I do not feel bad, sick and stressed.
I do not feel them Snoopy Press
Not in my neck. Not with Rex.
Not in a zone. Not with a groan.
I would not feel them here or there.
I would not feel them ANYWHERE!
I do not feel bad, sick and stressed.
I do not feel them, Snoopy Press
Idaho State! Idaho State!
Could you, would you with Idaho State?
You do not feel bad, sick and stressed?
I do not feel them, Snoopy Press.You do not feel them so you say
But with my nagging you just may.
You just may say…
Say! I do! I do!
I do feel bad, sick and stressed!
I do, I feel them Snoopy Press!
Levi , Justice and Jack enjoyed attending the Michigan game as guests of the Bo Pelini Foundation.
By Randy York
The man who gave his wholesale support to launch a Nebraska chapter of Uplifting Athletes has gone beyond giving the green light to four dozen Husker players who bonded together to support pediatric brain cancer. A spokeswoman for the Bo Pelini Foundation announced today that the Nebraska head football coach’s charitable organization has made a donation to Uplifting Athletes in honor of 7-year-old Jack Hoffman (of Atkinson, Neb.) and 6-year-old Isaiah Casillas (of Lexington, Neb.), and all other children battling this rare disease.
Jack and Isaiah are pediatric brain cancer patients who became part of Nebraska’s traditional pregame Tunnel Walk three weekends ago. They were also honored at Memorial Stadium, joining Rex Burkhead’s family and Uplifting Athletes President and CEO Scott Shirley on the field before Shirley presented the 2012 Champions Award for Burkhead's leadership and support of a rare disease.
“The Bo Pelini Foundation chose to donate to the Nebraska Chapter of Uplifting Athletes because, thanks to an anonymous donor, there are matching funds right now for all donations up to $100,000,” said Chris Anderson, Nebraska’s associate athletic director for Community Relations and BPF board member.
In Bo, Uplifting Athletes Has a True Friend
“Coach Bo represents everything that I have ever believed about the Huskers,” said Shirley, a former wide receiver at Penn State. “His competitiveness on the field is matched by his compassion everywhere else. Team Jack could not have found a better coach, and Uplifting Athletes could not have found a better friend.”
Andy Hoffman, the emotionally charged father of Little Jack, who was featured last weekend in a Big Ten Network game-day video, agreed with Shirley. "Coach Pelini has been a constant source of support for Jack and our family,” Andy said. “From allowing Jack on the sideline at games to attending a private bowl practice and taking time to say ‘hi’ at the bowl game events, he’s been phenomenal. And I’m still in awe that Coach Pelini asked Jack and Isaiah to do the Tunnel Walk with the team.
“Coach Pelini’s support has been over-the-top for a year,” Andy Hoffman said. “The most remarkable experiences that Jack has had with Rex were really the result of Coach Pelini's graciousness, and the way I look at it, the Bo Pelini Foundation's contribution to pediatric brain cancer research is just one more example of his unending support."
Bo’s Leadership Supports Critical Cause
The Foundation’s support is appreciated, and the money will be helpful in the fight against pediatric brain cancer, Hoffman said, but “It’s extremely impactful to the disease to have Bo’s example of leadership and support in this cause. When one of the most prominent college football coaches at one of the most prestigious football programs in America makes a gesture like this, it pushes this disease onto the national agenda. Our hearts overflow with gratitude for Coach Pelini's unending support of Jack and all the other children battling brain tumors."
The Bo Pelini Foundation’s contribution to Uplifting Athletes comes on the heels of a follow-up N-Sider interview with Andy Hoffman, who said his wife, Brianna, was able to watch the video last Saturday after finishing her once every month shift as a pharmacist at West Holt Hospital in Atkinson. “We both think BTN did an outstanding job, and we’re encouraged by the awareness that resulted from that video," Andy said.
“What we’re most excited about is the fact that the public was able to hopefully see the difficult challenges that children with brain tumors face when it comes to treatment,” Hoffman said. “Jack’s medical journey, while unique to our family, is unfortunately not unique for children with brain tumors. Multiple surgeries and months of chemotherapy are the norm. The BTN piece highlighted what these children go through and exponentially helped in getting this disease on the national agenda where we think it belongs."
Understanding Depth of Rex’s Inspiration
“The Big Ten Network did a terrific job of intertwining Jack’s medical journey and his relationship with Rex in its feature,” Hoffman said. “They were able to put both aspects on a simultaneous timeline, and I marvel at what it takes to do something like that. Rex has told us how he drew inspiration from Jack’s fight, but we didn’t realize the depth of that inspiration until we saw the pieces that came together in the video.
“We’re so thankful that Bo is the head coach at Nebraska,” Hoffman said. “While Rex’s relationship with Jack happened due to Rex’s passion for helping Jack and his genuine connection to him, Coach Bo helped facilitate some of the more remarkable experiences. Bri and I were moved to see them showcased in that feature, and we still can’t believe Coach Pelini would allow our family to attend a private bowl practice and then let Jack be involved in the end of the day ‘breakdown’.”
While Husker fans see Pelini’s passion, "We see Coach Bo’s compassion,” Hoffman said. “He’s been truly amazing during this entire journey.”
Hoffman: Big Ten ‘Awesome Conference’
That’s not all the Hoffmans salute as they continue their daily battle with a deadly disease and go through the grind of weekly chemotherapy treatments with Jack. “The Big Ten Network is an outstanding network,” Andy said. “We admire how they celebrate off-the-field successes as much as they do on-the-field successes. From their features to their programming like “Live Big”, the BTN showcases the character that exists in this awesome conference.”
Hoffman deliberates and then processes his feelings another way. “The Big Ten Conference doesn’t just encourage their student athletes to help others; they facilitate it and celebrate it,” he said.
“The culture in the Big Ten Conference is that of a ‘service to others’ approach to life,” Andy added. “The fact that there are five teams in the Big Ten that have Uplifting Athletes’ chapters speaks to that. There is absolutely no doubt that the Big Ten Conference genuinely celebrates off-the-field service to others just as much as they celebrate wins and championships. That’s what makes me so proud that Nebraska is a part of the Big Ten. It stands for everything that Nebraska believes in.”
If you wish to make a donation to help out others with pediatric brain cancer, please go to Upliftingathletes.org and donate in care of the Nebraska Football Chapter. Join the Bo Pelini Foundation in making a contribution via the Nebraska Chapter of Uplifting Athletes and your donation will be matched (up to $100,000) by an anonymous donor for all donations given until Nebraska’s bowl game. Donations can also be made via the Team Jack website (curesearch.org).
The Burkheads accepted Rex’s trophy as the Uplifting Athletes Player of the Year from Jack and Isaiah for Rex Burkhead at the Wisconsin game on Sept. 29. Pictured in back row, left to right, Andy Hoffman, Scott Shirley, Rick and Robin Burkhead, Ryan Burkhead; front row Jack Hoffman, Patrick Casillas and Isaiah Casillas.