Chicago family helps single caregivers by setting up an emergency fund at Children's Memorial
December 11, 2009 - After they spent virtually day and night at an area hospital after their daughter was injured in a car accident, Chicagoans Tim and Marilyn Holcer saw firsthand some of the hard choices single caregivers of hospitalized children are forced to make. “It’s hard to imagine what it’s like to be a single parent and wake up every day having to choose between visiting your sick child and staying at home to care for your other children, and also worrying about losing your job if you need to take time off,” said Marilyn.
Because of the hardships the Holcers saw, they took action by donating $100,000 to establish a partnership between Children’s Memorial Hospital’s Family Services and the Los Angeles-based Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation by creating the Andre Sobel River of Life Fund at Children’s Memorial. The foundation has provided more than $4 million in program assistance to 10,000 family members in partnership with 13 pediatric hospitals nationwide.
Raquel, a Chicago area single mother of three, has been unable to work since she was hit by a car last year. Her 19-year-old son, Carlos, is being treated at Children’s Memorial for spina bifida, a congenital neurological condition. Recently the family went without power for several weeks because Raquel was unable to pay their electric bill. Thanks to the availability of short-term emergency financial assistance, the family was able to have their power restored almost immediately.
Social workers assess requests for assistance through the fund, which is available on a case-by-case basis. This assistance can take many forms, ranging from free hospital parking and meals to help with transportation, groceries, and, occasionally, rent or mortgage payments.
“Literally, some families would not be able to get their child here for treatment if we didn’t have these services available,” said Nancy Heap, LCSW, manager of Social Work and Palliative Care at Children’s Memorial and co-director of the fund.
For the emergency fund to reach its full potential, it will require a $25,000 match each year from like-minded donors. “If you are fortunate enough to be able to help sick children and their families, you owe it to yourself to do so,” said Marilyn.
To donate to the Andre Sobel River of Life Fund at Children’s Memorial, contact Amanda Porta at aporta@childrensmemorial.org or call 773.975.8713.
The Holcers are also featured in the Heroes magazine. Read more here »
About the Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation. The mission of the Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation is to give the “gift of time” to single parent families whose children face life threatening and catastrophic illness by paying urgent expenses when all other resources are exhausted. The Foundation works in partnership with leading pediatric hospitals nationwide to assist their pediatric patient families “when compassion can’t wait.” The foundation bears the name of a young man who died of brain tumor at age 19. Out of love and respect for him, his parents Valerie and Erwin Sobel, founded ASRL in 1995.
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