JoJo the UPS Man
JoJo adjusts his new uniform and climbs proudly up the stairs of the UPS truck. He makes a beeline to the driver’s seat in the simulator, where the six-year-old takes the wheel as his family eagerly looks on.
JoJo’s wish to be a UPS driver was inspired by his love of mail. When it arrives at home, he sorts it and hands it out, and he especially likes repurposing boxes to deliver as packages to his family. Everyday routines like the mail arriving are especially uplifting and comforting for JoJo on days when he’s experiencing a flare up of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA). Watching JoJo on his wish day, it’s hard to picture the rambunctious boy still, and that’s what can be especially challenging about his illness.
"JoJo is extremely active, and his love for imaginary play takes him many places physically and mentally," say his parents, Ashley and Joseph. "When JoJo is flaring, he becomes sedentary and lethargic, yet he will never admit that he is ill. JoJo is a fighter, and when he is down, he is 'just tired' or is 'resting.' He takes his new doses of medication and patiently waits for his body to adjust to his normal."
After learning about JoJo and his love of UPS, the team at the UPS Integrad® driver training facility in West Boylston, MA, dedicated hours to planning his wish, customizing every detail for him.
JoJo is presented with his own UPS uniform and a bag of UPS-themed gifts, and after a short ceremony led by the UPS team to welcome him and his family, his safe driver training begins in the training lab. JoJo learns quickly thanks to the expert mentoring of UPS trainer Paulo and soon it’s time to head outside.
There, JoJo discovers the biggest surprise of all: a replica “Brownie” UPS truck made just for him. With a personalized license plate and plenty of space for packages, JoJo is ready to roll. He takes a few test drives and practices his turns with help from Paulo before the pair heads onto the streets of “Clarkville USA”—a tiny town full of streets and houses where UPS drivers practice deliveries.
With Paulo guiding him through all the steps for collecting, scanning, and delivering, JoJo is soon driving confidently around Clarkville, delivering packages to his family. The UPS team has even made sure those packages are full of fun trinkets for their recipients to discover.
“What’s your name?” asks JoJo's grandpa as JoJo scans and delivers a package to him. “UPS MAN!” declares JoJo, to cheers from his family and the UPS team.
“Being JoJo’s instructor at UPS Integrad was a privilege of a lifetime,” says Paulo. “JoJo will be my UPS partner forever.”
“Sharing in JoJo’s special day was an honor for our team. JoJo is a breath of fresh air. His happiness and smile will always stay with us," says Kara Jo Serrano, UPS Integrad Manager.
"JoJo’s wish allowed him to turn his imagination into reality and it was something that he looked forward to every day as it came to fruition. Now, when JoJo sees a UPS truck, worker, or box (and he sees these a lot!) he is so excited and reminisces about his wish day," say Ashley and Joseph. "Sometimes what we adults may take for granted is something a young child wishes to be a part of, and in JoJo’s case, it can change their life.”
