Josh Provides - Epilepsy Assistance Foundation

By Amanda Harper, Mom to Charlotte, a JoshProvides kid

There is a chill in the air and the smell of fresh-baked Christmas cookies is wafting through our house. This could mean only one thing; the holidays are here!

Every year, we usher in good cheer and spend time with those we love the most. As we near the close of the current year, and move towards celebrating a new year, the holidays also remind us of the nonprofits that help our communities year-round. These nonprofits need your support now more than ever. With inflation rising, and incomes becoming tighter, it can be a difficult period for those that need our help the most, and now is a good time to reflect on how we can help these nonprofits.

Recently, our family experienced the loss of a dear friend from epilepsy. Our friend was a distinguished young attorney, and had her whole life ahead of her when she passed away at the young age of 38 without an estate plan. This prompted many of her close friends to review and execute their own plans. Our family was one without an estate plan, and having lost a dear friend with young children, I decided it was time to make our own plan.

We reached out to an attorney near us that does estate planning to set-up a living trust which would allow us to make a legacy gift to a charity important to us. The process itself only required two meetings with the attorney, and was considerably more affordable than we expected. The attorney asked about our preferences for our legacy gift, and informed us of the process to ensure that my wishes were carried out.

While in the planning process, I made a list of all the charities that we support, looked up their financial ratings, and reviewed the percentage of funds that were spent on people who were benefitting from the charity. There was a clear front runner among all the charities that we considered, and that was our favorite charity of all, JoshProvides Epilepsy Assistance Foundation.

Of the charities we reviewed, JoshProvides gave the highest percentage directly back to the families that needed it most. We had personal experience with JoshProvides in 2013 when my daughter Charlotte had her first serious seizure. JoshProvides supplied our family with an Emfit Seizure Monitor for Charlotte which we could not otherwise afford without their support. Charlotte is now a happy and thriving 12-year-old, due in part to the kindness of JoshProvides. We have met countless families in the JoshProvides network that have received life-changing assistance, such as medication assistance, seizure response dogs, seizure alert devices, and moral support through the monthly support groups.

It is almost time to close out the end of our tax year, and now is the time to review your annual giving, and your legacy gifts. If you have not set up a legacy gift, the process is very simple with the assistance of a qualified attorney. Our family’s mission was to support the charities that meant the most to us, and would continue our vision of helping others. JoshProvides is the charity that closely matches our goals to help others. When considering your legacy, please consider making a gift to JoshProvides Epilepsy Assistance Foundation in your estate plan. It is a great choice.