Healing Through Service: The Glenn Family’s Mission of Giving

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By Lucy Esplin, Church News

In July of 2022, the Glenn family received devastating news: Their son, 11-year-old Davidge, had cancer. Now, two years later, the Peoria, Arizona, family regularly visits the hospital where he was successfully treated to bring donations from their community.

When their son was diagnosed with the aggressive form of cancer known as Burkitt lymphoma, Jordan and Amanda Glenn spent three weeks at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, Arizona, as Davidge underwent treatment.

In the following eight months of treatment, the Glenns grew to love and appreciate the small pediatric unit and the selfless staff dedicated to helping their son. During the difficult time for them, Amanda Glenn chose to live by the words she tells her children: “If you’re feeling down, take a shower, go exercise, eat something — and then go serve someone.”

At one doctor’s appointment, she simply asked the hospital staff if they needed anything, and sure enough, there was a need for bandages.

So Glenn spread the word to leaders in her ward, and soon enough, she and Davidge showed up at the next doctor’s appointment with bandages in tow. As more doctor’s appointments came, she continued to ask what she could bring, and her community and Pinnacle Peak Ward stepped up.

Ellie Pace, the ward Relief Society president, said, “Helping those who can’t help themselves allowed all of us an opportunity to serve and remember the Savior’s counsel to love one another.”

As the holidays approached, the Glenns committed to making last year’s drive their biggest one yet. Noticing that many of the fun items provided for pediatric patients at the medical center were geared toward younger children and didn’t interest teens, the Glenns decided to use this drive to donate items that teens would enjoy.

They got JustServe involved and spread the word through their ward and community through social media, resulting in over 100 people contributing to the donation bins set up in workplaces, church buildings and doorsteps.

Davidge and his sisters Lilly, Lola and Remi gave ideas for what items teens would like, and Amanda Glenn spread the word. “Some of the items we collected were Squishmallows, gift cards, slippers, blankets and various other gifts teens would appreciate.”

When asked about the donation drive, Wendy Pauker, associate director of Child Life Services for Banner Children’s at Thunderbird, said, “The kids in the hospital during the holidays felt so lucky to receive some of the wonderful gifts that they donated and put huge smiles on the kids’ faces. The staff at the hospital feel blessed to have gotten to know the entire Glenn family during a very difficult time in their lives. Davidge is a great kid that we have all fallen in love with.”

Looking back on the drive, Amanda Glenn recalled that she “wanted to associate that heartache and hard time with more than just the trauma. I wanted to kind of give back. It connected us with Jesus Christ, just trying to think of what we would do if He were here on earth, and I feel like He would want us to do this.”

Davidge has been cancer-free now for a year and a half and eagerly continues to use his doctor’s appointments at the medical center as opportunities to ask what more they can do for those at the hospital.

And his mother confirmed that the donation drive tradition would continue. “I think we’ll forever do this now,” Amanda Glenn said. “I think it’s just because we entered this cancer world, and I think about these families every day.”

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