Our founder
George S. Bernardich
Dawn’s Heart was inspired by founder George S. Bernardich’s journey after his November 15, 2023 diagnosis with Stage 4 adenocarcinoma lung cancer, and by the extraordinary support, prayer, and kindness he has experienced throughout his ongoing cancer battle.
The origin of Dawn’s Heart
On November 15, 2023, George S. Bernardich was diagnosed with Stage 4 adenocarcinoma lung cancer.
His treatment at Moffitt Cancer Center and the support of family, friends, faith communities, physicians, and those who pray for him have made gratitude a daily practice.
George remains in ongoing treatment. This information is current as of October 6, 2026.
That experience gave George a clear question:
“What am I grateful for today, and how can that gratitude help someone else?”
Dawn’s Heart and What Are You Grateful For Today? grew from the answer.
The work begins with the disruption caused by cancer, then extends to immediate community needs, long-term opportunity, and accessible acts of service.
Gratitude should lead somewhere. At Dawn’s Heart, it leads to action that improves another person’s life.
What grew from it
From one question to a portfolio of help
Operating as a fiscally sponsored charitable Project of Cure on Wheels, Dawn’s Heart turns gratitude into action: helping newly diagnosed cancer patients and their families navigate the difficult first months through First 180; mobilizing communities through Fill the Truck; creating pathways to self-sufficiency through the Skilled Trades Legacy Project; and organizing accessible acts of care through Heart Kits. What Are You Grateful For Today? is the Dawn’s Heart engagement initiative that invites people to share gratitude and turn it into action for someone else.