Newsletters - Fall 2024
Founder's Message
H.A.L.O. Is In Transition But Our Legacy Will Endure
H.A.L.O. Is In Transition But Our Legacy Will Endure
Dear Friends,
Our hearts were devastated when our three- year-old daughter was disabled by meningitis and encephalitis in the fall of 1991.
Those neurologic storms robbed Sarah of speech and control over her own body. Ultimately her persistent vegetative state and rampant seizures forced us to place her in a pediatric nursing home for medical care.
Our experience with other families at New England Pediatric Care inspired us to create the Help A Little One Foundation in 1993 to enhance quality of life for children with neurological disease.
For more than 30 years H.A.L.O. has provided tangible gifts and supported programs that increase physical comfort, facilitate social interaction and build acceptance in the greater community. Additionally we have endeavored to support the caregivers of these children.
As Sarah nears her 36th birthday, we are happy to report she is responsive to her environment, and seems pain free and content. But as she ages, we age, and we need to consider H.A.L.O.’s future.
Our family and H.A.L.O.’s Board of Directors are exploring ways to sunset the foundation in a way that honors Sarah and our mission. The goal is to structure this transition in a way that ensures that programs we have supported are not defunded abruptly and that H.A.L.O.s assets will be applied as donors intended. We will keep you posted on these developments.
Gayle and I continue to visit Sarah regularly. We fervently hope she feels safe, well cared for and well-loved, and that her peers have felt supported by H.A.L.O. on their personal journeys.
We are deeply grateful to the friends who have been by our side and for the donors small and large who have made these efforts possible.
Gratefully yours,
