That is so chocolate bar.
“If you will it, it is no dream.”
– Theodor Herzl
When Dylan, a first grader at Wise School, discovered how much his friend, Jonah, had been impacted by Glycogen Storage Disease (GSD), he did what any good friend might do. He promised to help.
Dylan’s idea of help, however, proved different than most. Dylan vowed to raise $1 million to help find a cure for Jonah’s disease by selling his book, Chocolate Bar, that he wrote in 1st Grade.
At the Wise School Mitzvah Day in November 2012, Dylan sold more than 200 copies of Chocolate Bar to raise money for GSD research. Since then, Dylan, Jonah, and their families have created a crusade against GSD, taking their cause to book signings, the internet, newspapers, magazines, and television — including CBS’ The Doctors, Headline News’ Raising America, Fox News’ Fox & Friends, The Today Show in Australia, an interview with Chelsea Clinton for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, and ABC World News with Diane Sawyer. And, of course, they continue to come to Wise School Mitzvah Day each year.
To date, boys have sold nearly 25,000 copies of Chocolate Bar in more than 60 countries worldwide.
On 15 December 2014, with the help of the Stephen Wise Temple clergy, who donated the final $10 thousand, Dylan and Jonah reached a milestone — $1 million in just two years.
But the pair has no plans of stopping until there is a cure.
Jonah and Dylan represent an inspiring example of how children can put deep learning, creativity, and wholeness to use by making great happen in our world, and we encourage you to join them by visiting their website and supporting Chocolate Bar.
All money raised goes directly to Jonah’s research fund at the University of Florida where his doctor, GSD expert Dr. David Weinstein, is completing research and preparing for human clinical trials. The cure for GSD should prove the utility of gene therapy and, therefore, may change the face of health care worldwide.
While trying to cure GSD Type 1b, Jonah and Dylan hope children of all ages can learn that they have power and can change the world.