In November, Ohio resident Jim Webb touched down on his childhood dream: attending a Pittsburgh Steelers game and meeting the team.
“We never imagined being here,” Webb said in an Instagram video. “We are extremely blessed.”
Webb, a pastor in Ohio, was diagnosed with stage IV Kidney cancer earlier this year. With his health declining, he was losing hope of his Steelers dream ever coming true. So, Dreams of Joy and Northside North Shore Chamber of Commerce stepped in.
“He was like a little kid in a candy store,” Dreams of Joy Founder Mindy Bess said in an interview. “To see that, for me, is the reward.”
The Dreams of Joy Foundation is a charity focused on helping terminally ill adults diagnosed, ages 21 to 65, have a dream granted. Similar to the Make a Wish Foundation, Dreams of Joy aims to make travel, celebrity meet-ups, and other bucket-list desires possible.
“We are creating a beautiful goodbye for the dreamer and their families,” Bess said. “To have an experience that they normally wouldn’t be able to have.”
Bess started Dreams of Joy in 2017 as a way to honor her late father James Bess. Bess’s father suffered from terminal brain cancer, passing away in 2002. He was a devoted Garth Brooks fan, and Bess was desperate to fulfill that dream before it was too late.
“[Brooks] was his escape in life,” she said. “But there were no resources available for me to make that happen. No programs out there for adults.”
The disappointment of not making her father’s dream come true fueled the establishment of the Dreams of Joy Foundation. While she herself faced limited resources, perhaps she could erase those limits for others.
“I had to bridge the gap,” she said. And she did — since 2017, Dreams of Joy has achieved a reality for over 50 dreamers, including Jim Webb’s dream Steelers game.
During the November trip, Webb, with wife Tamara Webb and Executive Director Bess, attended the Steelers vs. Bengals game. Funding from Northside North Shore Chamber of Conference enabled the party to attend a tailgate party, explore scenic areas of Pittsburgh, and meet Steelers players.
“Meeting Kolb was amazing,” Bess said. “He was his hero in the 80’s.”
The trio explored the city and faced lots of friendly, local faces in Pittsburgh, especially in the Northside. Mike’s Beer Bar and the North Shore Tavern showed their support for Webb’s family and the Dreams of Joy Foundation by offering complimentary dinners to the party. Collier Township’s Rival Restaurant and Sports Bar also provided a free meal for the Webbs and Bess.
“We got to eat a lot of food that we normally wouldn’t eat,” Bess said. “[We are] very grateful for the Pittsburgh area.”
Executive Director of Northside North Shore Chamber of Commerce, Carrie Nolan-Robson, oversaw the partnership with Dreams of Joy to complete Webb’s dream. Nolan-Robson organized the meals for the trip. She also assembled funds to gift the Webbs and Bess with an Aviary experience.
“The story is so touching how it all worked out,” Nolan-Robson wrote in an email to The Chronicle. “It brought me to tears when she [Bess] sent me pictures.”
For more information about Dreams of Joy, email Bess at [email protected] or call (615) 679-8001.
