Chad Juros “Spreads the Magic” for the children of Aruba

for The Press of Aruba by Rosalie Klein (December 31, 2006)

                The month of December is host to many holiday celebrations in Aruba by companies and organizations. This year, Mike Eman, head of the AVP political party decided to treat his party members and children to the magic of young Chad Juros of New Jersey. After seeing Chad on the Arts and Entertainment Network during an episode of the Criss Angel Mind Freak Show, he contacted the eighteen-year-old magician and his mother, requesting them to be his guest in Aruba and to perform for the local children.

                Chad and his mother Penny are more than a magician and his mother, he is the founder of the Spread the Magic Foundation, and she is the CEO/Director. Their mission is “To spread the magic to pediatric cancer hospitals, camps, hospices and foundations in the hopes that children with cancer and their families can find the magic in their lives.” Proceeds from the magic shows and the sale of Chad’s DVD’s go to fund research for childhood cancers to major research hospitals and foundations.

                The reason young Chad and his mother, along with his sister Faith are so devoted to this cause is that Chad himself is a survivor of leukemia, with which he was diagnosed at the age of three. After treatment and being in remission, he relapsed in 1995 at the age of seven, for which the only cure known was a bone marrow transplant from a matching sibling. Unfortunately, the bone marrow of his sister Faith did not match, so for the next seventeen months he lived in the cancer ward of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He suffered devastating side effects from the experimental drugs that were used, often in a coma, and experiencing cardiac arrest more than once. During that long battle, and since he was three, his father Donald used magic to entertain and distract Chad through the long ordeal, and Chad in turn became fascinated with magic. He wiled away the many hours in bed by practicing tricks, and since released from the hospital in 1998 he has performed in countless venues. Amongst them are the Paul Newman Hole in the Wall Camps, various resorts, Epcot Center in Disneyworld, and he has been invited back to the White House  every year since 2004 by George W. and Laura Bush to perform for the annual Easter Egg Roll celebration. Chad was cast and played the young David Copperfield for the movie of the famed magician’s biography, which played on prime time television. Now in college, when he is not studying he devotes his time to mastering his magic and performing to benefit child cancer victims like himself.

                The AVP members and their families enjoyed Chad’s slight-of-hand and juggling skills in and entertaining presentation on Thursday morning, December 28. He often evoked gasps of wonder and awe from his appreciative audience. This was the first visit for Chad and his mother to the island, one that she admits is all too brief, but “other performance commitments demand their return.” A return trip to Aruba is planned in the near future.

                Chad and Penny’s incredible story and more information about the Spread the Magic Foundation can be found at their websites, www.spreadthemagic.org and www.magicalchad.com. They are centered out of Egg Harbor Township, NJ, near Philadelphia, and are available for fundraising and charitable performances. Contact information is on the website, and they can also be contacted by calling 609-926-1763.

                Chad’s delightful performance and visit to Aruba were all to brief, and it is hoped that they return to the island very soon!

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