Meet Jake

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My name is Jake Negvesky and I'm the President and Founder of Play Your Hand. I found my inspiration for PYH  after a series of major neurosurgeries and my diagnosis with Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome (visit www.vhl.org for more info).  Throughout my weeks spent in and out of hospitals, I met countless other children going through similar, and often times much more difficult, situations. I realized that I had the power and the ability to make the lives of kids like me and families like mine  just a little bit better. A little bit easier. And with that realization, Play Your Hand was born.

While recovering from surgeries, I realized that the phenomenal staff of these hospitals were often under equipped in providing children with ways to occupy their time in recovery or during treatment. Often times children had nothing more than the small TV in the hospital room to help take their mind off of their exhausting treatment. It was there that I saw an opportunity to help. By providing comforts of home (like blankets or stuffed animals) or objects for entertainment (like video games or current movies), we could help children make their time in the hospital as enjoyable as possible.

As for our name, it comes from something my dad has always said to me. "This is hand life dealt ya'. It may not be the best, but play it right, and you may just win the hand." On top of providing the comforts of home, PYH aims to inspire those we help that any diagnosis does not define their life and that they can find a way to win their hand, whatever winning may look like for them.

The picture above is of me and my family, who have supported me in this journey every step of the way. From left to right, that's me, my mom Kathlene, my dad Jayme, and my two (usually) great siblings Abby and Mason.

I would like to personally thank you for visiting this website and spending the time to learn about me, my family, and Play Your Hand. If there is anything myself or this organization can ever do to help, please do not hesitate to give us a shout! 

Thank you again,

Jake Negvesky