Couple Turns Wedding into Pediatric Cancer Fundraiser Honoring Groom’s Cousin

Amber and Jon Kozesky knew their September 2026 would be special for them. They wanted to extend the celebration of love beyond their marriage and help others at the same time. They met while volunteering for The Littlest Heroes pediatric cancer foundation and turned their wedding into a “celebration with purpose,” they told People. Instead of wedding gifts, Amber and Jon Kozesky encouraged guests to donate to The Littlest Heroes.

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“One of the first questions people ask when you tell them you’re getting married — after ‘When?’ — is ‘Where are you registered?’ Amber and I quickly agreed that there wasn’t much we needed, but there was so much need around us,” Jon said. “And then I think it hit both of us at almost the same time: Why not ask people to support the organization that had helped my family all those years ago and, ultimately, was the reason Amber and I ever met in the first place?”

Amber and Jon Kozesky wanted to honor Jon’s cousin, who died at 8 years old from a brain tumor.

“When a child has cancer, an entire family is suddenly rearranging its life around treatments, hospital visits, and caring for a sick child, while the normal responsibilities of life don’t stop,” Jon said. “There are still bills to pay, groceries to buy, gas tanks to fill and other siblings who need their parents.”

So Amber and Jon made it their mission to celebrate their wedding with those they love most. They also wanted to give back to families in need. They wanted to raise an ambitious $100,000 for The Littlest Heroes. Their reception brought in gifts of $50,000. But as word of their idea began to spread, total strangers also donated.

“It made an already meaningful day feel like it belonged to something bigger than just the two of us,” Jon said. “Knowing that while we were celebrating, another family might have one less bill to worry about or one less impossible choice to make is probably the greatest wedding gift anyone could have given us.”

This is the kind of trend we’d love to see catch on. There is so much good in the world. Sometimes, all you have to do is ask.

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