ABOUT US
The Jackson Sparks Foundation was founded in Jackson's memory, to perpetuate the kindness and love that was shown to the Sparks Family during their darkest moments. We want to continue that mission of love, kindness, and faith by granting baseball dreams to children in need, right when they need it the most.
JACKSON'S
STORY
Jackson was an 8-year-old boy who had an unmatched passion for life. A 3rd grader at Clarendon Elementary, he lived in Mukwonago, Wisconsin with his parents Sheri and Aaron and his older brother Tucker
Jackson and Tucker loved Baseball and had a passion for the game. They played in their backyard, they played baseball video games, they cheered on their local teams and they also played baseball competitively with their travel baseball team, the Waukesha Blazers.
Jackson's baseball team, the Waukesha Blazers U8 Wolfpack even won their league championship in 2021. Jackson was living every 8-year-old’s dream and was on top of the world.
On November 21st, while marching with his baseball team in the annual Waukesha Christmas Parade, the unthinkable happened. At 4:30pm, a man in an SUV plowed through the parade, striking participants and bystanders. The attack ultimately killed six people and injured over 60 others. The driver of the SUV struck both Jackson and Tucker in this violent act that would change the Sparks Family and the Waukesha community forever. Both boys sustained severe injuries and were rushed to the Intensive Care unit at Children’s Hospital in hope of a miracle. Jackson's older brother Tucker, by what the Sparks Family knows was a miracle of God, survived the attack and eventually healed from his injuries. Jackson's injuries, however, were incredibly severe and was not able overcome them. A sweet 8-year-old boy who loved baseball and his family succumbed to his injuries and sadly passed away on Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021.
JERSEYS FOR JACKSON
Through the darkest moments in the Sparks Family's lives, however, they were never alone. In the days leading up to Jackson's funeral, communities from all over the country rallied to support the victims of the attack and their families. The whole country came together in a very unique way for Jackson and his family. His mother had a very special request that children attending the funeral on Thursday, December 2nd would wear their baseball jerseys to honor Jackson's passion and love for baseball. The community, however, had much bigger plans.
Todd Ahrens, a Wisconsin native, created a social media hashtag #jerseys4jackson, and requested that communities everywhere would wear their jerseys on the day of Jackson's burial to honor him. The hashtag spread with the power of social media, and thousands of people wore baseball jerseys, sharing pictures captioned “Jerseys for Jackson” on the day of his burial. Baseball organizations like the Milwaukee Brewers, the Milwaukee Milkmen, and hundreds of other organizations all over the country showed their support by wearing jerseys. Even schools and workplaces took part in the campaign, posting pictures in their jerseys and fueling support from all over the globe. Jackson, and his pure and innocent love for the game of baseball was honored in a way that brought the entire country together in solidarity.
#JERSEYS4JACKSON
OUR MISSION
The Jackson Sparks Foundation was founded in Jackson's memory, to perpetuate the kindness and love that was shown to the Sparks Family during their darkest moments. We want to continue that mission of love, kindness, and faith by granting baseball dreams to children in need, right when they need it the most.
The Jackson Sparks Foundation helps "make baseball dreams come true" for children who suffer from:
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life-threatening illness
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critical injury
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loss of an immediate family member
Our aim is to encourage and instill hope in these children through granting those baseball dreams.