03/24/2025
It has been a while since se paused our operations and we sincerely apologize for the hiatus of Ezra and Buddies.
As you already know, Ezra and Buddies was established in honor of Ezra Jacob who, at the age of 3, unexpectedly died from complications of accidental drowning, and was hailed as the youngest organ donor in the Philippines in November 11, 2022.
The main goal of our nonprofit is to raise awareness, educate, and provide programs for drowning prevention among children. The pain of losing a child at a very young age due to this tragic accident is not for the faint of heart. We can attest that time does not heal this pain we have, and we continue to carry the loss of our son like his accident just happened yesterday. That said, our nonprofit strives to end childhood drowning, and prevent another family from experiencing our ordeal, and what our life without Ezra has become.
We are a very small and young organization, primarily managed by Ezra’s parents and a handful of volunteers. Our community- in Seattle, WA where Ezra was born and raised, as well as some supporters overseas in the Philippines, Canada, and Italy where Ezra’s family members and family friends are, have been generously funding the organization to provide almost 200 free learning-to-swim lessons and other drowning prevention programs since April 2023. It is a community effort that requires a lot of time, energy and dedication.
In the past year, we welcomed Ezra’s baby brother. What a blessing we believe Ezra handpicked for us to have to help heal. We’ve been focusing on the hustle and bustle of his baby brother’s first year, as well as managing Ezra’s twin brother’s grief, emotions, and milestones as a now 5 years old old twinless twin.
This time has allowed us to closely spend time together and reconnect with each other as a family. We also took time to think about Ezra and Buddies and how we can improve our organization and really create impact to our community, again, reflecting on Ezra’s legacy, and how we want our son to be remembered and known for in this current world.
Reflecting on the past two years of programming, we realize that donor-recipient stewardship is something we truly value that has not been explicitly implemented as we imagined. We genuinely value the contributions that our community has given to carry out the programs of Ezra and Buddies, however, there has not been fruitful relationship between our scholarship recipients and donors. This is something we’d like to focus on and really foster. We are reminded that this organization is more than just a nonprofit. It is a community that truly cares for children’s water-safety, a community that finds ways to make learning a lifeskill accessible for all regardless of location, socioeconomic status, and other disadvantages.
Although we are a small organization, imperfect, and limited, we will find ways to continue to provide drowning prevention measures in any way we can.
Ezra and Buddies is the legacy of our son.
Ezra and Buddies has to reflect how our son is remembered and loved.
Ezra and Buddies is a place for those who continue to love and care for him.
Ezra and Buddies is a place for change and lasting impact.
Ezra and Buddies will resume shortly, but in a mindful way under our mission and values, and we will continue to serve communities carefully and strategically.
To our donors from April 2023- 2025, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING PART OF OUR MISSION AND IMPACT.
please stay tuned for our future announcements on programs, scholarships, events.
- Rosario family
