Thank you for your contribution to the Erika Kate Foundation. We appreciate your support!
On March 11, 2009, Mulberry Elementary School in Muscatine, Iowa kicked off a school-wide fundraiser benefiting the Erika Kate Foundation. Mrs. Julie Minder, a third grade teacher, is credited with the idea of hosting the fundraiser to support the work of the Foundation.
According to Mrs. Minder, “I thought it was a good idea for the school to support the work of the Foundation. It’s important for our students to understand that they can reach out with compassion to help families in need. EKF was started by Mulberry parents and is named after one of our students. It seemed like a positive way to get the kids excited about helping others.”
Mulberry Elementary is special to the Maynards. Erika was once a student in a Mulberry pre-school program, and her sister, Emma, is currently a third grade student there. The school has a talented and tenderhearted team of teachers who not only work to educate children, but also make efforts to instill strong character qualities.
The fundraiser was an opportunity for students, staff, and parents of Mulberry to partner with EKF to help families of children with life-threatening heart conditions. Traci Maynard, who co-founded the not-for-profit in late 2006, hopes the fundraiser can become an annual event in Muscatine. “Each year, we hope to rally around a certain family in the midst of a hardship related to their child’s condition. This year, we have chosen a wonderful family living in New York City who definitely deserves a break and is in need of assistance.”
The family of Leslie Lopez has been through many trials in the past few years. In 2002, Ms. Lopez lost her daughter to a heart disease similar to the one Erika suffered from. Then, in 2004, she gave birth to twin boys, Johan and Tariq, who also were plagued with the same heart disease, cardiomyopathy. Both boys have received heart transplants at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian. Because of the advanced medical care and observation the boys require, the family has been forced to relocate to New York City, and has had a tough time making ends meet.
As a way to reach out to this family during their time of need, Mulberry Elementary collected donations to purchase the family a one-year cell phone contract. While the original goal was to raise $800, students and staff managed to raise more than $3100. What a powerful testimony to the generous and compassionate families attending this Muscatine school. As a result of this successful fundraising effort, EKF looks forward to blessing the Lopez family with various necessities to help them cope better with the challenges they’re currently facing.
EKF would like to thank all the Mulberry parents, students, and staff who participated in the three week long effort; Doran & Ward Printing Company of Burlington, Iowa, for donating a variety of print materials; and Papa Murphy’s of Muscatine, for their willingness to participate in this event. Members at both companies have children who attend Mulberry and believe in the value of extending generosity and compassion to those in need.
If you know of a school, a workplace, or an organization that would welcome the opportunity to raise funds to help families in the midst of their journey with a life-threatening heart condition, please contact us at info@erikakate.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Pictured from left to right: Megan Price, Julie Minder, Emma Maynard, and Cameron Christiansen
Good works are links that form a chain of love. –Mother Teresa
Erika Kate Foundation
PO Box 262
Muscatine, IA 52761
563-823-8858 fax
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Other Foundations
Air Charity Network - Air Charity Network,™ formerly Angel FlightAmerica (AFA), provides access for people in need seeking free air transporation to specialized health care facilities or distant destinations due to family, community or national crisis.
American Heart Association - THE definitive association for heart disease in the United States. Focused on awareness, education, and research, this is a powerhouse website for a first class organization.
Pulmonary Hypertension Association - An excellent resource for patients and families affected by pulmonary hypertension .
Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation - An excellent resource for parents of children with cardiomyopathy.
Children’s Heart Foundation - Another great resource for education, advocacy, and research related to pediatric heart failure.
Songs of Love - A fabulous not-for-profit organization using music to bring smiles to the faces of children with serious medical problems.
Information About Organ Donation
United Network for Organ Sharing - This is widely considered THE source for information about various aspects of organ transplantation. It lists relevant statistics for both patients and institutions on all aspects of organ transplantation.
National Organ Donor Website - A website maintained by the United States government that will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about transplants and the prearranged decision to gift your organs to someone in need of a transplant in the event of your untimely death.
Personal Web Pages
Erika’s CaringBridge Page - See Erika’s caringbridge site that helped us stay in contact with our friends and family throughout Erika’s journey with cardiomyopathy.
Financial Support
Children’s Organ Transplant Association - This association focuses on assisting transplant patients with the organization of self-directed fundraising efforts in their local communities.
National Transplant Assistance Fund (NTAF) - A not-for-profit organization based in Philadelphia. Dedicated to helping patients of all ages plan and organize events to raise money for un-insured medical and non-medical expenses related to a transplant of any kind. NTAF also helps patients impacted by various catastrophic illnesses such as spinal cord injuries and the like.
In February, EKF helped a single mom from Des Moines, IA, as she cared for her 12 year-old daughter who underwent a heart transplant at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. Mom needed help getter her car repaired so she could travel regularly between Iowa City to be with her daughter, and Des Moines to look after her young son. EKF also helped the family by covering parking expenses at the Ronald McDonald house during the months they spent at the hospital.
In June, EKF helped the Merseal family (See Charli Anna’s Story) during their daughter’s five month hospitalization. The family had incurred several thousand dollars in dislocation expenses related to the hospitalization. EKF helped cover much of their expense during that time.
In July, EKF helped a single mother of two keep up with her utility payments at home as she took extended time off from work to tend to her teenage daughter recovering from a heart transplant at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian.
In September, EKF helped the McDonald family from Washington state. (See Mia’s story). Little Mia McDonald waited four months in the PICU at Seattle Children’s Hospital before a donor heart became available. The wait was agonizing. EKF helped the family by sending gas cards to help offset their transportation expenses of getting back and forth between home and the hospital. While Mia’s Mom spent most of her time at the hospital with Mia, Mia’s Dad lost his job a few weeks after Mia was born. Their income dropped significantly and the family found themselves in a jam financially around the first of September. EKF made a single mortgage payment on the family’s behalf. A few weeks later, Mia’s Dad found another job and their financial situation stabilized. EKF helped them keep their heads above water, financially, while they dealt with the more pressing matter of Mia’s health.
In October, EKF helped a young family from Kansas as they relocated to Iowa City to await a heart transplant for their four year-old son. The family had asked for help coming up with a security deposit for an apartment near the hospital so they could wait for a new heart in the comforts of home as opposed to waiting in the hospital.
In October, EKF helped a single mom from Iowa as she transitioned home after her infant son’s hospital discharge. Her son had been born with a host of serious medical problems including a complex congenital heart defect. During her son’s three month hospitalization, mom had lost her job, her home, and many of her belongings. Her life seemed to be unraveling due largely to the stress brought by her son’s condition. EKF lent a hand and helped her get back on her feet after her son’s medical condition had stabilized and he was released from the hospital for the first time.
Throughout 2008, EKF helped a single mother in New York as she cared for her twin boys who had each had heart transplants at Children’s Hospital of New York. (See Johan and Tariq’s Story). EKF helped buy food and some pharmacy expenses not covered by the boys public assistance program. EKF also helped with transportation expenses to and from the hospital for post-operative follow-up visits.
