38 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | MAY 2018 Jamie Killin | Web Editor #LOVEUP Supporting children living within the foster care system GIVING BACK {charity spotlight}

MAY 2018 | FRONTDOORS MEDIA 39 The Story It’s a rare occurrence for an autocorrect fail to lead to something great, but that was the case with #LoveUp. KISS FM Phoenix radio host and #LoveUp Foundation co-founder Johnjay Van Es was texting Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner about their sons’ football game when Warner accidentally texted “love up” instead of “love it.” Van Es instantly knew it would be a great name for something bigger. “Kurt wrote, ‘love up’ — I mean ‘love it’ — and he goes, ‘stupid autocorrect.’ I’m sitting there staring at it. ‘Love Up.’ You know, that is so good,” Van Es said of the conversation. “So I text him right then and there and say, ‘Dude, you should take Love Up and you should use that to promote kindness.” While Warner didn’t end up using the slogan, Van Es mentioned it on the radio and it took off — prompting listeners to tweet logos for #LoveUp and inspiring one listener to make T-shirts. The T-shirts became a huge success and it became the name of the Johnjay & Rich charitable foundation. “Somehow, #LoveUp became bigger than Johnjay and Rich Care for Kids, because Johnjay and Rich Care for Kids took place in December and we’d talked about trying to do things for people all year long. Because of our connection to foster kids — my oldest son was adopted — we tied that in and it morphed,” said Van Es. “One day we all just started calling the foundation #LoveUp, then we officially changed.” Now, the foundation includes LOVEUP Movement & Moments, which hosts events and experiences for children in the foster care system; Heart Gallery, which works in partnership with the Department of Child Safety to take photographs of children in the foster care system; #LovePup, which finds homes for rescue animals; and Christmas Wish, which grants wishes to children and families in need during the holidays. The Cause #LoveUp primarily focuses on offering support services to children in foster care by hosting events for kids, raising awareness, and supporting the Department of Child Safety through the Heart Gallery program. According to #LoveUp, there are 425,000 children in the foster care system nationally and one in five will become homeless after the age of 18. One in four will experience PTSD, and fewer than 3 percent will earn a college degree. “It’s hard, because there are so many needs just in foster care,” said KISS FM Phoenix radio host and #LoveUp Foundation co-founder Johnjay Van Es (left) and Rich Berra (right) have been spreading kindness throughout the communities they serve and helping kids for more than 15 years.