Established in 2012, the Mary Jo Brown Foundation in Wilmington, MA honors the memory of a woman whose drive and passion for life were unmistakable and who truly cared for those she mentored, managed, or helped.

Mary Jo’s compassion touched the hearts and lives of many in both her personal and professional life. Some of the things Mary Jo loved most represent the focus of our programs. Our tagline of “spreading smiles through acts of kindness” serves as an umbrella for our diverse works.

Our initiatives include, but are not limited to, supporting children, families, and the military, as well as rewarding selflessness in children through our annual Kindness Campaign.

We provide support to Child Life Services at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, either through activities and socials for inpatients and their siblings or via direct financial contributions to be used where needed.

Each holiday season, we adopt between two and four families for Christmas. Whether families are transitioning from a shelter into their own home or are struggling because of illnesses or other hardships, we provide clothing, groceries, and as many items as possible from the wish list of each family member.

Each month, two members of our armed forces receive a package from us via HeroBox, containing items they have requested through the HeroBox website.

In addition, we send a larger shipment three times per year to a platoon/regiment or any type of unit that is currently deployed. Whenever possible, this is sent to a group that has a local resident among its ranks.

To encourage young people to join us in spreading smiles, each year we seek nominations of children up to the age of 18 years who have selflessly gone above and beyond to help others. This is our biggest initiative, and the top award winner receives a trip to Disney World.