Over the course of his short life, Ari Schultz constantly battled Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). During his valiant fight, Hope Strengthens Foundation (HSF) was honored to connect with Ari’s family and we worked together to identify targeted ways we could render assistance. Sadly, Ari passed away in 2017.
Ari made a tremendous impact on all of us at HSF and we wanted to do something special to honor his memory and help others in the process. While Ari was receiving treatment for CHD at Boston Children’s Hospital, his parents Mike and Erica were connected with Jessica and Erik Lindberg. Jessica and Erik founded the Ethan M. Lindberg Foundation in memory of their son Ethan, who also battled CHD.
The Foundation advocates for unique and collaborative approaches to medical and patient care that make a difference for children and families facing CHD. They provide financial assistance, apartments, and housing support grants to families in-patient at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Conversations with Ari’s parents, Mike and Erica, about collaborative ways to honor his memory resulted in the establishment of a grant program through the Ethan M. Lindberg Foundation to support other families like their own.
At our annual charity golf outing this spring, we announced the establishment of this important initiative. During moving remarks about their son Ari, Mike and Erica shared that their family would help seed the grant. Thanks to contributions from Ari’s family and the generosity of sponsors and donors at the event, we delivered a $20,000 grant to the Ethan M. Lindberg Foundation in Ari’s name.
Thanks to Mike, Erica, Jessica, Erik, and our sponsors and donors, we are proud to report that grant funds have already started to make a positive difference, covering the housing needs of in-patient families currently receiving treatment at Boston Children’s Hospital.
HSF looks forward to the privilege of continuing to fund this important grant program in Ari’s memory on an annual basis.