JONAH'S LIGHT AND THE SUPERHERO FUND
Tuesday, February 20, 2018, marks one year since the horrific day that a drive-by shooter fired several shots into a Pomona home, where some families were gathered for dinner, and killed 8-year-old Jonah Hwang. His parents and his brother were present, and are heartbroken by this senseless tragedy. In Jonah’s parents’ words:
“The devastation that we feel from this loss is unfathomable.
We welcomed Jonah into our family less than three years ago, after adopting him from an orphanage in Taiwan. He had an infectious smile and loved everyone and everything: sports, wrestling with his dad, running, laughing, superheroes. With his playful demeanor, he adapted almost immediately to life in the United States and became a full-blooded American in no time at all.
Jonah was a light and joy in our household and we cannot imagine our family without him.”
Jonah’s family established a website through the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe, to provide help and support to his parents as they grappled with the impact of this traumatic experience. The love and assistance that people from across our region showed the Hwangs led the fundraising site to exceed well beyond its initial goal.
Jonah’s parents elected to continue this spirit of hope and generosity by turning these donations into a scholarship fund to bless and give back to the children of Pomona and to honor Jonah.
They write:
“We hope that Jonah can continue to be a beacon of light in this city, and that he won’t be forgotten because of the love of so many people that have made his light shine as brightly as the person he was.”
At Jonah’s memorial service, held at Purpose Church in Pomona, his impact as a lover of superheroes, and as a superhero in his own right, was commemorated and celebrated through photo slideshows, the retelling of stories, and the distribution of superhero action figures and lapel pins. For months to follow, these lapel pins were spotted on leaders of our community, reminding all of the need to convene for the wellbeing of our City and its residents.
The service had another lasting effect, a message that seemed to come from Jonah’s very spirit: a reminder to be superheroes in our own lives, and to live our lives fully, just the way that Jonah himself did.
Additional Links
For more information on Jonah, please visit: http://jonahslight.org/.
Previously, donations were being received through the GoFundMe site. The family has since directed all fundraising to the Pomona Community Foundation, but we recommend you visit the original site for more background: https://www.gofundme.com/jonah-hwang-family-support.
Read news coverage of the story here: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2017/02/21/boy-killed-in-drive-by-shooting-was-adopted-from-taiwanese-orphanage/.
Clicking below will open a new tab with our page on the California Community Foundation website, where you can select the fund or other project best suited for your needs.