The 143 Owen Foundation

06/06/2026

On June 25th, our family will be participating in Hope in Motion Fest with the incredible organization Golden Hope, and we would love for you to join Team Owen & Riley.

After losing Owen, mom, Mo and I began attending Golden Hope’s grief support group. Walking alongside other families who truly understand the pain of losing a child or any family member or friend has been an invaluable part of our healing journey. This group has given us a safe place to share our grief, process our loss, and find hope in the midst of heartbreak.

The walk is FREE to attend. Donations are welcome but absolutely not required. More than anything, we would love to see our family, friends, and community come walk beside us in honor of Owen and Riley.

This is a family-friendly event with food, games, activities, and opportunities to connect with others while supporting a beautiful mission.

If you’d like to join Team Owen & Riley, you can register here:

http://www.givebutter.com/hopeinmotionfest

Thank you for continuing to love and remember our babies. We hope to see many familiar faces there as we walk together, remember together, and support families navigating unimaginable loss.

💙 In memory of Owen Onda
💜 In memory of Riley Rae

Walk - Remember - Celebrate

06/05/2026

Today we’re sharing Arlo’s story.

No family ever expects to hear the words, “Your child has cancer.” Yet every year, hundreds of families face a diagnosis of Wilms Tumor, a rare childhood kidney cancer that often presents with symptoms that can be easy to overlook.

Some signs of Wilms Tumor can include:
🧡 A swollen or firm belly
🧡 Abdominal pain
🧡 Blood in the urine
🧡 Fever
🧡 Loss of appetite
🧡 Fatigue
🧡 High blood pressure

While Wilms Tumor is rare, awareness matters. Early detection can make a difference.

As a foundation founded in memory of our son, Owen, who passed away from a tumor embolism caused by Wilms Tumor, we are committed to sharing stories, spreading awareness, and supporting families walking this unimaginable journey.

I recently had the opportunity to meet Arlo and bring him some goodies for his hospital stay. He is an amazing, strong, and funny kid who has already faced more than most people do in a lifetime. His smile, personality, and resilience left a lasting impression on me.

Like many children undergoing cancer treatment, Arlo’s immune system has been compromised by treatment. His family will be working hard to regularly sanitize their home when Arlo is able to be there and take extra precautions so that he can continue to be a kid while also staying as healthy and safe as possible.

If you feel called to help, we will be sharing Arlo’s Amazon Wish List in the comments. Items can be purchased directly from the list to help support Arlo and his family during treatment. Every act of kindness—whether it’s a purchase, a prayer, or simply sharing his story—makes a difference.

Please join us in praying for healing, strength, and comfort for Arlo and his family as they continue this journey.

🧡 Share his story.
🧡 Spread awareness.
🧡 Support families affected by childhood cancer.

06/04/2026

The Pirate Ship Project May Be Complete, But Our Mission Continues 🏴‍☠️🧡

Thanks to the incredible support of our community, sponsors, donors, friends, family, and participants, we successfully reached our goal and funded the Pirate Ship Playground project at Kankakee Township Park. We are so grateful for everyone who helped make that dream a reality.

While the pirate ship project is funded and brief brought to life, The 143 Owen Foundation is still actively raising funds to support our annual preschool scholarship program. Each year, we will award two full-tuition scholarships to students attending the 4–5-year-old classes at Kougar Pride Preschool in Wheatfield and DeMotte.

There are several ways you can continue to support our mission:

🧡 Share our posts
👕 Purchase foundation apparel
🧡 Make a donation toward our scholarship fund

Donate at: www.the143owenfoundation.org

Every purchase and donation helps us continue creating opportunities for local families while honoring Owen’s memory.

And don’t worry—we’re not done yet! 👀 We are excited to announce our next community project soon, so be sure to follow along and stay tuned for more details.

Thank you for helping us keep Owen’s joy alive in our community.

The mission of The 143 Owen Foundation, is to bring awareness to Wilms Tumor and remember Owen by creating fun outdoor activities in the community and to reflect Jesus. Owen loved everything about the outdoors. He liked to hunt, fish, swim, play ball, run and bike. Basically, he liked anything that....

06/04/2026

Thank you to everyone who came to the foundation booth and entered to win the membership to Park on 8th yesterday! We have one more to give away this summer!

We’ll see you again next week at Demotte Market in the Park with another giveaway! We have shirts and canvas bags to purchase at the booth every week. Those funds will go towards the Kougar Pride Preschool Scholarship fund for 2027 ❤️ AND towards our next project 👀🧡

Come by and say hello on Wednesdays from 4-8. Stay for the movie at sunset!

06/03/2026

We are at Demotte Market in the Park giving away a year membership at Park on 8th!

We are also taking applications for the Kougar Pride Scholarship 🧡

Come say hi!!

06/02/2026

📚🧡 Preschool Scholarship Applications Are Open! 🧡📚

The 143 Owen Foundation is excited to award two preschool scholarships this year — one for a student attending Kougar Pride Preschool in Wheatfield and one for a student attending Kougar Pride Preschool in DeMotte!

These scholarships will cover a full year of tuition for one child at each location in the 4–5-year-old class. This class holds a special place in our hearts, as it was the class Owen attended.

🧡 Applications are open now!
📅 Deadline to apply: July 31, 2026

Scholarship recipients will be selected at random and will be presented with their scholarship by members of The 143 Owen Foundation via the information you provide on your form. We will never reach out on Facebook and we do not have an Instagram account, please do not respond to spam.

Applications can be completed online at:
Www.the143owenfoundation.org

We will also have paper applications available at our booth during the DeMotte Market in the Park throughout the summer.

We understand that some of the responses you provide on your application are personal. Please know that all responses submitted are completely confidential. Applications will only be reviewed by members of The 143 Owen Foundation Board of Directors and will not be shared outside of our board.

If your child is enrolled or planning to enroll in the 4–5 class at either Kougar Pride Preschool location, we encourage you to apply!

Thank you for allowing us to continue Owen’s legacy by supporting local families and helping children start their education journey!

The mission of The 143 Owen Foundation, is to bring awareness to Wilms Tumor and remember Owen by creating fun outdoor activities in the community and to reflect Jesus. Owen loved everything about the outdoors. He liked to hunt, fish, swim, play ball, run and bike. Basically, he liked anything that....

05/26/2026

We are incredibly excited to announce that The 143 Owen Foundation will be giving TWO preschool scholarships every year! 🧡

Beginning this year, we will provide:
✨ One full-year tuition scholarship for Kougar Pride Preschool in Wheatfield

✨ One full-year tuition scholarship for Kougar Pride Preschool in DeMotte

These scholarships will be awarded to students enrolled in the 4-5 class — the same class Owen attended at the Wheatfield location.

Being able to grow this scholarship program means more than we can put into words, and we are so grateful for the support that will allow us to continue doing this every single year.

📆The deadline to apply is July 1st!
👧 Scholarships will be chosen at random
✏️ We will draw August 1 and reach out via the information on your application

❗️We will never reach out to you via Facebook in regards to this scholarship. The 143 Owen foundation will never ask for bank or payment information. Please do not respond to scams❗️

Helping families who have helped us through this loss and keeping Owen’s memory alive in our community is at the heart of everything we do.

If you would like to donate directly or apply to our scholarship fund, please visit:

www.the143owenfoundation.org

05/21/2026

🏴‍☠️ PARK UPDATE 🏴‍☠️

The 143 Owen Foundation has officially raised the funds needed to bring the pirate ship playground to Kankakee Township Park in Wheatfield! 🧡

We are beyond grateful and excited to see this project finally coming to life. The park will be undergoing additional improvements this summer, and our playset installation will follow after those updates are completed.

And the best part…
✨ The pirate ship is officially ON ORDER! ✨

Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible:
our sponsors, donors, vendors, 5K & 3K participants, board members, families, and every single person who shared a post or supported us along the way.

Because of all of you, Owen will continue to be part of this community for years and years to come. As his mom, I will never truly have the words to explain what that means to me.

Keep an eye out for more updates — and for where you can find us this summer! Starting with Demotte Market in the Park. We’ll have $25 shirts and a giveaway 🧡 we’d love to see you!

05/21/2026

Our embroidered hats and shirts are still available for purchase! 🧡

While our park project at Kankakee Township Park has made amazing progress, our mission doesn’t stop there. One of the most important things we do through The 143 Owen Foundation is provide preschool scholarships each year for local families. And we will be looking for another community project once the Pirate Ship Park is completed.

Every purchase helps us continue giving back to our community in Owen’s memory — through scholarships, park improvements, and spreading joy wherever we can.

Thank you all for continuing to support our family, our foundation, and the dreams we have for our community. 🦕🧡

If you’d like to grab merch or support our mission, visit:
www.the143owenfoundation.org