By Judy O’Gorman Alvarez
RED BANK – Dennis McGinnis strikes a presence. It could be his Texan accent, held over despite 44 years living in New Jersey. It could be his business, McGinnis Printing, a staple on Monmouth Street for decades. Or it could be the tattoo of the young boy on his chest that he’s quick to share a glimpse of if the conversation warrants.
But it’s probably his passion and dedication to the promise he made to that young boy, his nephew Jason Creager, 32 years ago when the 19-year-old succumbed to cancer.
The promise – to never forget his beloved nephew – grew into Jason’s Dreams for Kids.
“We just surpassed our 1,000th dream,” McGinnis said proudly of the nonprofit he started and runs with his wife and partner Linda 32 years ago. Thirty-two years of fulfilling the dreams of children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses.
“Make-a-Wish does wishes,” he said. “We do dreams.”
Jason’s Dreams for Kids, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit, fulfills those dreams through a variety of fundraising events as well as individual and corporate donations.
Trips to Disney World top the list of dreams for kids. And depending on the number of people in a family, that can be an $11,000 trip. For McGinnis, it’s whatever the child wants.
There was the little boy who got to fly in a biplane. The boy who wanted to be in a movie and was able to share a scene with Sharon Stone. The young woman who was 19, too old for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, went to an anime convention outfitted in costume to meet the character she admired. “She got everything she wanted,”
McGinnis said. “Ten days later, she passed away.”
The McGinnises used to attend more funerals than they want to count but have stopped. “I can’t do it anymore,” McGinnis said.
They have also begrudgingly learned about childhood illnesses they would rather never know about such as sickle cell anemia, Angelman syndrome, usher syndrome and various types of cancer that affect the littlest patients.
In addition to trips and memorable experiences, they have paid for wheelchair ramps, medical equipment and even funerals. “Our guidelines are, any family with a child with a catastrophic or life-threatening illness” can ask for help, he said.
A spiritual man with an affinity for numbers, dates and their symbolic meaning, McGinnis is confident Jason is taking care of those children who have passed on.
Jason Douglas Creager, McGinnis’ nephew, had been battling Burkitt lymphoma – a cancer characterized by tumors containing lymphoid cells, occurring especially in children in the jaw, eyes and internal organs and associated with Epstein-Barr virus – since his diagnosis in April 1991. Following extensive surgery and an aggressive chemotherapy campaign, he started a bone marrow transplant Oct. 5 of that year – his 18th birthday.
In December, Jason called his “Uncle DeeDee” and told him his cancer had returned. “You never let me down,” he told McGinnis. When he asked his nephew what he wanted for Christmas, he said “I don’t want you to forget me,” McGinnis said.
“It’s a promise I’ll never break.”
Jason died Jan. 18, 1992.
McGinnis came to New Jersey to visit an uncle in 1979, met Linda and never left. They married, started the printing business in 1988 and went on to adopt their son Kevin from South Korea.
The couple has been fulfilling dreams through Jason’s Dreams for Kids since 1992.
The small operation runs with a board of four trustees – Dennis and Linda are two of them. Requests for “dreams” come from parents, social workers, health care workers and word of mouth. The organization does very little fundraising, aside from an annual golf outing and small fundraisers grateful families often hold. Grants and donations, both individual and corporate, help fulfill most of the dreams.
McGinnis is often overwhelmed by the generosity of people who hear about the Jason’s Dreams for Kids mission. A man at a restaurant donated $1,500 after talking to McGinnis about it. At a fundraiser at Count Basie Theatre in 1996, when he brought a little boy on stage and announced he was cancer-free, an audience member was so moved he donated $25,000. “That was one of the most touching things,” McGinnis said.
“They had been talking about funeral arrangements for him,” he said about the boy. “Now he’s 28 years old.”
The stories are plenty: He tells about the first grader who asked McGinnis to come with him to school and announced to his class, “I don’t know what Mr. McGinnis does for a living but I know he helped the doctors save my life.”
Jason Creager, McGinnis’ nephew, died in 1992 after battling cancer. Eduardo Pinzon
“They didn’t think he would make it,” Dennis said of that boy. “And I got the honor 20 years later to print his wedding announcement! And we’re going to the wedding! This is my reward.”
Rosie Perry of Red Bank cannot say enough about Jason’s Dreams for Kids and the couple behind it.
Rosie and Eric Perry’s son Jack was diagnosed with undifferentiated sarcoma at 3 years old. “He fought for 22 months,” Perry said. “He had surgery, chemo, radiation and whatever clinical trial. He was amazing.”
The Perrys were strapped financially. “People in this town were wonderful. They held fundraisers.”
When McGinnis got wind of it, he showed up. “He said ‘I hear your son is sick. Whatever you need, let me know.’ ”
“Once he met Jack, I was pushed to the side,” Perry joked.
“Jack and Dennis had a special bond. They called each other Big Turkey and Little Turkey.”
McGinnis is “there for you,” she said, “before you even know you need the help. He has a way of knowing what you need. He quietly goes about and does what he does,” whether it’s paying a bill or fulfilling a dream.
“And Linda is the quiet force behind Dennis,” Perry said.
The couple also doesn’t leave a family if or when their child succumbs to illness.
“For my family personally, they didn’t stop when Jack died,” Perry said.
When Jason’s Dreams for Kids received a substantial corporate gift with the only stipulation that part of it be used to be life-changing for a family, McGinnis knew which family deserved the help, remodeling the Perrys’ 100-plus year house.
“This is a family who works hard, does what they can, gives what they can, living day to day,” McGinnis said. Yet they are “always there to help.”
“I think once Dennis is your friend, he’s always your friend,” Perry said. “He’s just an angel that walks among us. I hate to sound cliché but he kind of is.”
McGinnis is proud of what Jason’s Dreams for Kids has done over the years.
“All organizations are good in some way or another,” he said. “I’m not saying we are better, but my kids are not numbers. I can tell you most of their birthdays.”
“It’s not a business for me,” he said. “It’s a promise.”
This article originally appeared in the August 24 – 30, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
