The 2021 Annual Report shares the impact of Richie's Spirit Foundation this year and the organization's vision for the year to come.
Love Joy Dadulo Richards, one of six HBCU Organ and Tissue Donation Advocacy Scholarship winners, is a Licensed Practical Nurse and a student at the University of the Virgin Islands pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. As a dialysis nurse, Love Joy has seen the incredible impact of organ donation on the lives of her patients and their families.
Ashis Dhakal, a senior from Salt Lake City, made difficult decisions alongside his family to escape poverty and illness, and pursue a better life. Relocating as a refugee was challenging as he faced inequity in a Nepali refugee camp, with limited access to basic needs. Motivated by his own experiences and to uphold his value of service, Ashis decided it was his mission to make a difference in the lives of those affected by extreme poverty. Richie’s Spirit Foundation recognizes Ashis Dhakal as the First Place Winner of the 2021 Significant Challenge Scholarship!
Years of treatment and multiple surgeries did not stop Nathan Marohn, a graduating senior from Stevensville, Michigan, from fulfilling his role as a community leader. With a motivation to transform lives, he resiliently met the challenges of his medical condition to advocate for the Ulcerative Colitis community. Richie’s Spirit Foundation recognizes Nathan as the Second Place Winner for the 2021 Significant Challenge Scholarship.
After realizing there were no established programs to connect children with chronic illnesses like her, Alexandra Crocker dedicated her time to build a support system for others who were in search of acceptance and encouragement throughout their health journey. From this deep-willed mission to transform the lives of families like hers, Fighting H.A.R.D was born to “provide physical, emotional, social, and financial help to families of children impacted by rare diseases and chronic illnesses.” Read more about Alexandra’s story!
Maggie Conlon of Brookfield, WI, received the 2020 Significant Challenge College Scholarship Second Place Award: “Little did I know that speaking in front of strangers would lead me to finally finding my voice. I realized that not only can I be confident speaking in front of others, but also that my words can have an impact on people.” Read more about Maggie’s heartening story.
“Plano native Jordan Herskowitz had planned to revive his 11-year-old autographical play in person this spring. But when the coronavirus pandemic sidelined his plans, he improvised. Instead, “Growing up Jordy Pordy: The Revival” is now online. ‘All of us, living through the pandemic, are grappling with how to live, what we take for granted,” he said. ‘The message is so important, no matter where we are. We’re all in this life together.’ The one-hour presentation premiered live on May 31, followed by a talkback session with Broadway and television actor Johnny Wu. It airs through June 30.” - Read the full Jewish Texas Post Feature.
Gwendolyn Morgan Flowers, of Ft. Defiance, AZ, is named a 2020 Significant Challenge College Scholarship Finalist: “I knew I needed to help create a safe place for my friends to meet. I loved music, and had a vision to gift children with instruments and create a program to teach music… I want to be a voice for children who share my experience and protect future generations from abuse.” Read more about Gwendolyn’s inspiring story.
Juliana Oringel, of Charlotte, NC, is named a 2020 Significant Challenge College Scholarship Finalist: “As hard as it is to constantly speak about the epidemic of gun violence and my experiences in the haze of recent attacks, I am motivated to know that every day, there are more than two thousand school supplies on desks nationwide that raise awareness for an issue deeply personal to me.” Read more about Juliana’s inspiring story.
Richie’s Spirit Foundation is proud to award Transplant Assistance Grants to the families of bone marrow and stem cell transplant recipients - a first for the organization. Nicholas, one of the grant recipients, received a life-saving stem cell transplant from his older brother, this past October after he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Richie’s Spirit Foundation celebrated 10 Years of Passing the Spirit, this June, with an Anniversary Celebration in Dallas. The evening included dinner and meaningful remarks from Executive Director Jordan Herskowitz, board members Melissa Berger and Donna Hartman, and TAG Committee Member Frances Jameson. The celebration also included the presentation of a $500 Transplant Assistance Grant to the family of Barrett Hooten, who received a triple organ transplant - kidney, lung, and heart - at the age of 20.
Ms. Martin was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia when she was 10 years old. After chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, and multiple medical setbacks, Anna recovered and lived cancer-free until faced with thyroid cancer during her junior year of high school.
Yet, from that first diagnosis, Anna was able to transform her fear into action. In her award-winning essay, Anna wrote that “I knew that if I survived I wanted to make an impact on the world around me. I lost so many of my friends from cancer and I am now living in their honor. It is my personal mission to give back to the hospital that saved my life and to help families who are going through that same horrible journey of cancer.”
Charged with this mission, Anna started an annual drive in 2012 to gather gift cards, gas cards, toys, and money for the oncology patients and their families at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital (ETCH). In addition to raising funds and resources, she volunteers her time twice a week at ETCH playing with patients and leading fun exercises like dancing, hula hooping, or soccer in the hallways. To date, Anna has volunteered 320 hours and raised over $15,000 in gift cards and toys.
Suzanne Sherman, Ms. Martin’s teacher and school librarian, says “Anna before the diagnosis was kind, compassionate, and giving. Anna after the diagnosis was kind, compassionate, and giving but more determined than ever to make a difference in the world with those qualities and to give back to the same community that nurtured her through her treatments.”
Anna wants to continue providing support and hope within the community that nurtured her by becoming a pediatric oncology nurse.
Richie's Spirit Foundation congratulates Anna Martin on being named the 2019 College Scholarship First Place Recipient.
At age 11, Maya Keesey of McHenry, IL, began a 27 month battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Two years later, Maya faced a new unique challenge when she completed a 3.3 mile swim across Lake Geneva. While racing far from shore, Maya was reminded of journey beating cancer. In her award winning essay Maya writes, “Both cancer and the lake swim took me outside of my comfort zone, where perseverance and self-reliance were necessary. Each of these journeys helped me learn a remarkable amount about myself and realize that I can do things I never would have imagined, even when it feels like an insurmountable challenge.”
Maya discovered through these experiences that when a person offers help to others, that person is made stronger as well. Maya has strengthened herself through her fundraising and public speaking efforts within the pediatric cancer community; she has raised over $50,000, and was awarded in 2016 as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Student of the Year. Maya engages in the broader community as well through tutoring, organizing her school’s blood drive, and as member of her Student Council.
Maya’s teacher, Sandra Dwire shares, “[Maya] has shown incredible maturity and positivity throughout her journey, and every year I celebrate along with her as she marks another year of being cancer-free.”
Maya hopes to become a nurse and use her unique perspective and experiences to continue serving her community.
Richie's Spirit Foundation congratulates Maya Keesey on being named the 2019 College Scholarship Second Place Recipient. Please stay tuned for the announcement of the first place scholarship winner coming soon.
