About

Mitchener Foundation will be a future nonprofit organization focused on improving the lives of people on ventilators in Arizona. Future projects will include:

• A group home for 4-5 young adults on ventilators
• Academic scholarships
• Assistive technology scholarships
• Birthday gift program for people on ventilators in care centers
• Care center visitation program
• Respite care for parents of children on ventilators

If you would like to help us achieve nonprofit status, please visit our donation page.

Who are the Mitcheners?

Gene and Jason Mitchener are a father and son born with a rare neuromuscular disease. Jason went on a ventilator in 1991 at the age of 21. His dad Gene went on a ventilator in the mid 90s in his fifties. Both lived in Arizona until Gene moved to Los Angeles to pursue a comedy career. Jason still lives in Arizona and is an author, artist, songwriter, and speaker.

Gene Mitchener - Gene Mitchener was known nationally as the “sit-down comic” who, under the veil of comedy, educated audiences about the “can do” attitude of people with disabilities.

A motivational speaker and comedian on handicapped issues, Gene began his professional comedy career in 1978 when some musician friends lifted him, in his wheelchair, onto a stage to entertain the audience during a break.

After briefly attending business school in Toledo, Ohio, Gene married his wife Julie and a year later had his son Jason. The Mitcheners moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1972. After Gene and Julie divorced in the mid-70s Gene moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he recorded a comedy album, “I’ve Never Heard of You Either.” He wrote and shared material with numerous comics who assisted him in fund-raising projects for the disabled and physically challenged, including muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries, spinal-muscular atrophy, cerebral palsy, Spastic Children’s Foundation and other volunteer foundations. His work in motivational and humor therapy is still used in several California-based motivational institutes and training programs.

At the suggestion of “Happy Days” producer Garry Marshall, Gene moved to California to train for his career in comedy. He worked every available open-mike opportunity and played many comedy clubs and college campuses across the country. He entertained in Vienna, Austria, for a convention of travel agents who specialized in travel for the disabled.

He made more than 100 television appearances, including featured segments on “Entertainment Tonight” and “Hour Magazine.” He was featured in more than 200 print articles, including a five-page spread in People Magazine.

He co-authored “Autobiography of a Wheelchair Comic: When Things Get Heavy … Lighten Up!”, a cartoon strip called “Gene” and a coloring book for disabled children. Rolling Productions published several motivational booklets based on his life.

Gene performed the lead role in a musical, “My How You’ve Changed!” that ran for eight weeks on stage in Los Angeles. He hosted a pilot episode of “The Gene Mitchener Show” for Group W cable television, was affiliated with a series of Family Channel comedy specials and hosted a two-hour variety show at The Horn nightclub in Santa Monica, Calif.

In his later years, as a successful motivational speaker, he was featured on The Hour of Power and spoke to hundreds of groups across the country. He was appointed humor therapist at Northridge Hospital in Northridge, Calif., and conducted weekly humor sessions for patients. His web site focused on the role of humor therapy in reducing life stress.

Jason Mitchener - Jason is an author, artist, songwriter, and speaker who lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

Born with a rare neuromuscular disease that confines him to an electric wheelchair and requires him to use a ventilator to breathe, Jason doesn’t let his disability stop him from moving forward in life. He’s not content to “stand still” and continually seeks avenues for personal growth.

In 2003, Jason published his devotional book, Just Passing Through: Notes from a Fellow Traveler. Later that year, he released a music CD of the same name with ten Christian pop/rock songs written or co-written by him but recorded by studio vocalists and musicians. In addition to this CD, Jason has had his songs recorded on CDs by three Christian artists.

Jason is also an accomplished digital artist. His vibrant images include many subjects including landscapes, people, and animals. (You can see his art at http://www.3DArtByJason.com.)

Jason also motivates people through speaking at churches, schools, and conferences. His talks include his Christian testimony “Power in Weakness” and his disability awareness seminar “What Happened to You?”

You can visit his web site at http://www.JasonMitchener.com.