Teen who beat cancer uses Make-A-Wish to help feed people in his community

SUMMERVILLE, Ga. — When children battling cancer are granted a wish, many dream about a trip, meeting a favorite celebrity or doing something unforgettable after months of painful treatments.

But when 14-year-old Jude Baker got that chance, he didn’t ask for something for himself.

He asked for a chance to help other people.

Jude was just 12 years old when he was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer that forms in the bones or surrounding tissue. The treatments were intense.

“It wasn’t even knowing I could die,” Jude said. “The chemo… it hurt.”

For his family, watching him go through it was incredibly difficult.

“I could feel his pain,” his father said. “And as a dad, that just… it sucks.”

After months of treatments, Jude finally reached a moment every childhood cancer patient hopes for: ringing the bell at the hospital to mark the end of chemotherapy.

That moment also meant something else.

Jude qualified for a wish through Make-A-Wish Georgia.

Most children choose something exciting — a dream trip, meeting a hero or a once-in-a-lifetime experience after everything they’ve been through.

But Jude had something else in mind.

During his hospital visits, he often noticed people experiencing homelessness nearby. It stuck with him.

So when he was asked what he wanted his wish to be, he didn’t hesitate.

“I got out of my version of heck,” Jude said. “And I want to help others who are in a similar situation, their own version.”

Emily Campbell, who helps coordinate wishes for Make-A-Wish Georgia, said Jude’s request was unlike almost anything she had seen.

“His only wish was to give back to his community,” she said. “That’s not a wish we even tell kids is an option. Usually we tell them you can wish to go somewhere, to be someone or to meet someone. Jude came up with this on his own. He never had a backup wish.”

So the organization and Jude’s community came together to make that wish real.

They packed backpacks filled with supplies, collected sleeping bags for people with nowhere to sleep, and prepared hot meals for anyone in Summerville who needed one.

For Jude, it wasn’t charity.

“I wanted to help them out because I was in a bad situation and they were, too,” he said.

More than 300 people showed up for the event. And Jude had one rule that day: He wouldn’t eat until every single person in line had been served first.

Now in remission, Jude says he hopes his wish inspires people to look around their own communities and help someone who might be struggling.

“It doesn’t have to come from a wish,” he said. “You can help, too.”

Some kids wish to meet superheroes.

Turns out, Summerville already has one.