Giving back to the goddess – JWF and Rhonda Kennedy

Rhonda Kennedy is a musician and a lover of arts who has made a big impression on Portland.As the Reverend Rho, she hosted the KBOO show “Church of Northwest Music.”  She and co-host Fiona Martin were called the goddesses of the airwaves. The show featured great regional musicians.She has done some interior design and worked for the Clinton Street Quarterly. She was the road manager for a group of Buddhist monks that performed at Lollapalooza. She interviewed the Dalai Lama and is writing a book about her own transformational experiences.She is a well-known blues singer who performed as Roadahh X. She has been a full-time caregiver.And, as with so many creative people, she never put herself first. So when doctors discovered she had advanced uterine cancer, Rhonda found herself needing help. The Jeremy Wilson Foundation raised funds, support and encouragement that would see her through the most difficult time.Rhonda’s spirituality is the center piece of her life now. The Dalai Lama has become her spiritual mentor and guide. “He teaches how obstacles can be opportunities,” she said. He modeled this, escaping from the brutality of Tibet’s occupation to bring his message of peace to the world.“Jeremy Wilson did the same thing after his illness by creating this foundation, and he inspires me in much the same way.”JWF organized a fund-raiser for Rhonda and spread the word that it was time to give back to someone who had contributed so much to Portland’s music scene.In January 2015, JWF began helping Rhonda with daily expenses while she went through intensive chemotherapy and radiation. The foundation helped pay rent, food, phone and storage costs.For Rhonda, JWF represents love and support. “You think you’re alone, and then they find you, and you receive all this help.”“They paid my bills, but they also changed my life. The JWF is a Godsend.”