A Message from our Founder, Neil Johnson, Jr.

The idea of a foundation started to percolate in 2011, when it became clear that finding educational scholarships not based on your income was literally impossible. This came to light in 2011 when I was diagnosed with CML and had multiple chemotherapy sessions, and a stem cell transplant which hit our family’s pocket book very hard.

During this time my daughter was a junior in high school and we needed to start, applying for academic and financial need scholarships. Throughout the year, we were unable to secure financial need scholarships due to what our tax returns showed and not the reality of our current financial situation.  The other issue was, since my daughter did not have cancer, she couldn’t qualify for those scholarships dedicated to cancer patients. 

In addition to what I went through, I felt the foundation would be a great way to honor my nephew Kevin Patoc who died from AML in 2008. Kevin was a fighter, tremendous student, brother and son. Knowing how much Kevin enjoyed academics, I knew he would not want anyone to be turned away from going after their educational dream. With Kevin’s parents going through similar issues to mine with acquiring financial assistance for their younger son, starting a foundation made perfect sense.  

So, in 2015, I created the Johnson Cancer Foundation and the Kevin Patoc scholarship by assembling a strong group of individuals that will guide us on this very important journey. 

Enjoy your visit.