The Josh Carden House Under Construction

A phenomenon that’s been termed the “Josh Effect” has been sweeping through students and communities in the Birmingham, AL area.  On December 6th, 2010 Josh Carden lost his grandfather in a tragic accident as he was crossing the road to meet Josh at the bus.  His grandfather died while being air lifited to the hospital.

Josh is a student at Thompson High School in Alabaster, Alabama.  The entire school loves Josh because of his positive, infectious spirit which is overwhelming even despite his disabilities.  Josh is confined to a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy and has suffered many painful operations.

Following the accident, students challenged each other to raise $1,000 to help the family with expenses, but surpassed their goal and raised nearly $13,000 in just four days.  The Josh Effect is “The Golden Rule in Action” which has rippled throughout the community and region.

Due to family circumstances, Josh’s grandmother and grandfather were his caregivers.  They’ve done the best they can with very limited income and lots of love.  They made attempts to improve the house, but were unable to complete them due to financial constraints.  The home they live in currently is in serious decay and has no facilities to meet even his basic needs.

Inspired by what high school students could do, a group sought to improve Josh’s living conditions. A team of local volunteers vowed to build Josh a new handicap accessible home.

A local builder, Jack Donovan of Donavan Builders, who himself was in a wheelchair, volunteered to coordinate the construction efforts.  Who would better understand the needs of someone that’s in a wheelchair than someone that’s in a wheelchair?  He has been building handicap accessible and handicap capable homes for the past five years since losing his ability to walk in a surgical accident.

The Josh Effect has received a few significant labor and material donations (foundation concrete, lumber, roofing, windows) many who had committed have recently been unable to assist as they once hoped.  Our aim is to build this house through donated labor and materials wherever possible, but it’s become apparent that in order to meet our timeframes there are certain portions of the house that will have to be paid for through cash donations.

The Josh Effect team is now a part of Surgance.  The Surgance motto of “Uncommon Partners – Common Ground – Changing Lives” describes the project in every way.  The Josh Effect will be an ongoing nationwide program under Surgance with assistance from SpeakAmerica’s “Let Your Life Speak” foundation and many others.

“These kids chose one of their own and decided to radically transform his life.  What’s happened here in a small Alabama town can happen anywhere when kids are given a chance.  We believe that this is just the beginning.  Tomorrow it may be another school with a kid that needs a rare and very expensive surgery,” said Brooks.

Follow the project’s progress here on the website or at http://facebook.com/joshproject.

To donate time or resources to the project, please click here.

For more information, please contact Program Director Jeff Brooks. Email: jeff.brooks@surgance.com. Mobile: 205-913-4449