Life Achievement Celebration

September was a month that The Joy Bus team will never forget! For the past couple of years, we have been partnering with and working alongside Dr. Marvasti and his team at University of Arizona's College of medicine to create a Culinary Medicine program. I am so proud to say that the first elective has now launched for UofA medical students and we were able to kick it off by sharing our must-have pantry essentials and three healthy sauce recipes to these bright future physicians. Being involved in helping future physicians - who may one day treat The Joy Bus patients - is such an honor and I am so grateful that we are a part of this. 

The celebration did not stop there, though. The very same week we were incredibly fortunate to serve our 20,000th meal as an organization! That is 20,000 meals coupled with a home visit and wellness check that have brought joy and soul-healing food to the people with cancer that we serve each week. As our community, we hope you take just as much joy and pride in that as we do, because your love and support made this happen! Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego joined in on the celebration, delivering a meal to our beloved clients, Kim & Kathy and proclaiming September 28th as officially "The Joy Bus Day" in Phoenix. Such a day to remember! 

A big thank you to the Bobby Q's Biltmore team for their support of our mission as our September Restaurant Community Partner. We hope you got a chance to try their delicious Rib Tips for the best kind of cause. 

September 19-21, our team had the opportunity to attend the virtual Food is Medicine Coalition Symposium. This annual conference never fails to provide amazing resources in our field and we greatly appreciate the leadership teams from other FIMC agencies who help put this event together. The information we took from this year's symposium is being worked into our organizational strategic plan and will make us more effective and sustainable into the future as we keep our focus on the Arizona cancer community and the nutritional and social needs of patients. 

Getting Involved

Community makes The Joy Bus mission work and we would love to have you join our team of amazing volunteers. You can view this sign-up and all of our other opportunities here. Volunteering with The Joy Bus makes such a difference to those impacted by cancer in our community and gives you the chance to hang out with some of the coolest folks around like our Volunteers of the Month from Copper Hills Church: Dick, Glyn, Tom S., Tom M., John, and Tom K. They know what it means to give back and have a great time doing it!

Interested in volunteering but have questions?

• Volunteering at The Joy Bus Diner or with meal prep/delivery: Carol - carol@joybus.org
• Volunteering at events or in the community: partnerships@joybus.org or fill out our Event Volunteer Form
• Fundraising Committee: partnerships@joybus.org

Thank you for taking the time to stay updated on The Joy Bus and our mission of serving people with cancer. Let's make it happen!

Love and blessings,

Jennifer Caraway