October 3, 2026

Sometimes the person who makes the biggest difference during a difficult time isn't the doctor or nurse.

Sometimes, it's the person waiting outside with a smile.

Jon and Kimberly / Credit: Sweet Bufaflo

That's what cancer patients at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, have found in Jon Avery, a hospital valet who has made it his mission to give every patient a little encouragement before they walk through the doors.

Jon greets patients with an upbeat attitude, a big smile and, often, his Buffalo Bills hat. But his interactions go far beyond simply parking their cars.

For people heading into a cancer center for appointments, treatments and difficult conversations, a few words of encouragement can mean more than anyone might realize.

Breast cancer survivor Kate Fink knows that firsthand.

During her treatment, Jon would regularly encourage her to keep going.

“You got this,” he would tell her. Eventually, Fink said, she started believing him.

“Yeah, it's just your mindset just kind of changes,” she said.

Fink wasn't the only person who noticed Jon's impact. Sweet Buffalo founder Kimberly LaRussa also remembers a day when she arrived at the cancer center feeling discouraged.

Jon noticed.

He asked her for a favor, and when she agreed, he simply told her, “You have yourself a good day for me, OK.”

It was enough to turn her mood around.

“I went from frowning to smiling after he said that,” LaRussa recalled.

For Jon, these small moments are intentional.

His goal, he explained, is to “have a meaningful encounter that's not hollow.”

And Kate Fink wanted to make sure Jon knew just how meaningful those encounters had been for her and so many others.

At one point, Jon mentioned that he was saving money because he really wanted to attend a Buffalo Bills game.

Fink remembered.

Comments on Facebook from people who met Jon

She and her coworkers at West Herr Automotive Group decided to do something about it. They raised money, made calls and managed to arrange something Jon never expected: tickets and field passes to a Bills game.

They also gave him a signed Josh Allen jersey.

Jon was ecstatic.

But perhaps the most touching part of the story is that Jon never expected anything in return.

“I serve people, that's what I do,” he said. “And if I don't got nothing else in the world that means anything to anybody, I know I can live in service.”

That's the kind of kindness that has a way of coming full circle.

Jon spent his days giving cancer patients a reason to smile before they walked into a difficult place. Then one of those patients decided it was his turn to smile.