Featured is a preview of this custom chopper minibike, which will be up for grabs during the silent auction at Jacob’s Journey on May 18 at Gauche Aquatic Park in Yuba City. This fundraising event is to help raise funds for Jacob Bear, a 9-year-old Yuba City boy fighting his second bout of leukemia. Photo courtesy of Jessica Wagers

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - Nine-year-old Jacob Bear is a typical Yuba City boy who loves Godzilla, builds Lego creations and plays Fortnite with his friends.

But unlike most children his age, Jacob is facing his second fight against leukemia and will soon travel to Stanford for a critical bone marrow transplant.

To help support Jacob and his parents, who are also juggling care for two other children, family friends Jen Osborn and Jessica Wagers are organizing a major community fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 18 at Gauche Aquatic Park, 421 C St., Yuba City. The event, “Jacob’s Journey: A Celebration of Strength,” will include live music, games, raffles, bounce houses, a silent auction and a variety of food vendors.

“We’ve been like family for over 20 years and our kids have grown up together,” said Osborn. “We’re inviting everyone to join us for a day of music, food and fun, and rally all the support we can. As much as we'd love to have Jacob at the event celebrating with us, we're hoping he'll be at Stanford waiting for his bone marrow transplant.”

Jacob is Native American, which makes finding a bone marrow donor more challenging. According to the Be the Match registry, a program operated by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), only 29% of Native American patients find a fully-matched unrelated donor, compared to 79% of white patients. People of color, especially those of mixed heritage, are significantly underrepresented in the national registry.

“People of color, specifically Natives, who are the third-largest population affected by leukemia in this age group, have a much smaller donor pool to draw from,” said Wagers. “Part of this, I think, is a lack of education on the donor process and how to register for these programs.”

Wagers explained that signing up to be a donor is simple: a free cheek swab kit is sent to your home and your genetic profile is added to the registry. Bone marrow donation itself is safe and often outpatient based. Still, finding an ideal match is rare. Most parents only have a five-point match with their children and roughly 70% of patients must rely on unrelated donors.

“If you're Caucasian, you typically have a higher chance of finding a match because there's a bigger pool,” Wagers said. “That’s why it’s so important to get the word out and get more people of color and mixed-race individuals on the registry.”

Fortunately, Jacob’s 12-year-old sister was a perfect match but many families are not as fortunate.

The May 18 fundraiser will feature live performances from The Ultrasonics, Seasons Within, ThorKat and Obie Leff and Jim Achilles, alongside food trucks, a bake sale, face painting, outdoor games, photo booths and more. Silent auction and raffle highlights include a youth custom “chopper-style” trail bike, drum kit and amp package, Giants tickets, guided fishing excursions, photography sessions and a two-night stay in Lake Tahoe.

There will also be themed raffle baskets from SOPA Thai, Yuba City Racquet Club, Lambert Café, Sign Dreamers, Milani Optical and others. All proceeds will go toward helping the Bear family with medical, travel and daily expenses during this difficult time.

Those who cannot attend the May 18 fundraiser can still contribute by going online to venmo.com/u/Jacobs_Journey. Additionally, to learn more about donations and the registry through the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) visit bethematch.org.