The Emma-Maye Foundation was founded in honor of our daughter Emma-Maye Colson who, after turning 12, lost her battle to pancreatic cancer in Aug of 2024. Emma was like no other, her joy, happiness and love for others was contagious. Through all her pain she would always put others first, especially her sisters. One of Emma’s main passions was her love for Disney. Over the two years of her battle, we were given the opportunity to take her to Disneyland multiple times, and each time something magical always happened. The joy Disneyland brought to her was surreal, it allowed her to forget for even just a moment of her struggles and allowed her to be a kid again.

That joy she had is what sparked the fire for the Emma-Maye Foundation. The joy Emma brought to this world was too much to let slip away. That’s why we will continue her legacy and spread her love by gifting a glimpse of new joy for families who are going through the same struggles of losing one of their children to a terminal illness. After losing Emma, we were able to bring her sisters back to Disneyland as wished by Emma. While there, even through the pain of losing their sister, we were able to see a glimpse of joy once again in them. Furthermore, we as parents, also in grief, were able to find joy again in seeing their happiness. That is what this foundation wants to share with others. There is no replacing the joy that is lost from losing a child. We hope for this to be an opportunity to bring new joy to families in grief as they start to step forward on their next journey.