Canal Winchester, Ohio
At Summit, we are fortunate to meet and work with incredible people and meaningful missions across Ohio. It is a privilege to spread the word about these missions in hopes of reaching others who also want to make a difference. Introducing the nonprofit: The BrockStrong Foundation.
The Foundation says:
Brock (B-Rock) Johnson was an amazing, courageous, smart, funny, and sweet, yet fiercely competitive kid. He got straight A’s throughout his school career, played soccer, basketball, football and travel baseball. B-Rock excelled at everything he did. He was involved in his church youth group, volunteered in the kids’ ministry, and was a member of the anti-bullying club at school. Everyone who met B-Rock remembered him. Whether it for his “old soul” personality, his smile, his giggle or his 110% effort in sports. On the outside, you could not tell he had anything going on with his health. On the inside, he had weekly and monthly infusions, blood transfusions, injections, doctor appointments, surgeries, hospital stays and traveled once a month to the National Institute of Health in Maryland. B-Rock battled an unknown auto-immune disease since he was 5 days old.
Brock’s mom and dad, Kristi and Terry Johnson, co-founded the BrockStrong Foundation in honor of Brock who lost his life to a fungal infection on May 20, 2015, following a bone marrow transplant and a 14-year battle.
Despite the challenges he faced, Brock carried on with his everyday life passionately. He loved playing sports, spending time with friends, and going to Starbucks with his older brother, Tucker. He was also devoted in his faith and loved the bible verse Jeremiah 29:11. This video about Brock’s story shows his bright, positive, and witty personality.
After an overwhelming show of support to honor Brock’s life from more than 4,000 people in the Canal Winchester community, Kristi and Terry knew they wanted to see their son’s inspiring impact on others continue to live on. The nonprofit was created in August of 2015. In 2025, the BrockStrong Foundation has gathered over 3,865 volunteers and has invested more than $1.83 million back into the community.
As a tribute to Brock’s life and interests, Kristi and Terry chose to focus on three areas of impact:
1. Honoring Brock’s love for baseball by hosting an annual Labor Day Baseball tournament, encouraging teams to exhibit his good sportsmanship and attitude
2. Partnering with Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where Brock spent many days, by providing financial assistance to families and donating items to make their stay more comfortable
3. Supporting the community through random acts of kindness -- from buying groceries, to paying for a struggling family’s much-needed vacation, and renovating homes for children with life threatening illnesses
“Summit’s involvement with the BrockStrong Foundation began in 2023 when I met Terry and Kristi Johnson through our mutual connection, Aaron Carroll of Elevated Integrity. I was touched by their story and felt called to help these kids out in any way that we could. Although challenging at times due to the unfortunate circumstances that these kids are facing, the bond created between our teams and playing a small role in contributing to Terry and Kristi’s calling is well worth it,” said Andy Rogers, Vice President of Summit
To learn more about how you can contribute, donate, or volunteer, visit brockstrongfoundation.com.
“Every day is a gift, so make the best of it.” - Brock Johnson
