Exactly one year after the cancellation of the 35th Anniversary Gala Celebration of the enCourage Kids Foundation (EKF) and one year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, EKF is celebrating its hospital partners and dedicated doctors, nurses, child life specialists, social workers and other healthcare professionals through the foundation’s online fundraising effort with the goal of raising $1 million.
Through its Honoring Healthcare Heroes Campaign, EKF will be highlighting stories of individuals in the healthcare industry who faced the past year and every day with courage and resilience and who make an immeasurable impact on the lives of their patients and families. The Pediatric Healthcare Hero Honorees are Meghan Kelly, Child Life Program Director – Children’s Hospital at Montefiore; Dr. Gerald Loughlin, Professor of Pediatrics – Weill Cornell Medicine/New York – Presbyterian; Nicole Perez, Coordinator of Child Life Services – NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst; and Dr. Kusum Viswanathan, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology – Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center.
“I’m so proud of the healthcare workers who risk their lives each and every day, especially during the pandemic,” said Michele Hall Duncan, President and CEO, EKF. “They’re our true heroes and I’m grateful to work closely and assist them with their needs for hospitalized children that they care for.” Funds raised will support projects and therapies that hospital budgets do not cover but help kids cope with illness and stress, provide distractive therapies and educate on diagnosis while also addressing the gap in health disparities.
Hall-Duncan was recognized and selected to CRAIN’s New York exclusive Notable Black Leaders & Executives list.
Krost + Fila identified EKF as a charity that brings awareness and a percentage of sales to their mission.
