Hope for Henry Foundation
“In 1995, Henry Strongin Goldberg was born. Two weeks later, he was diagnosed with Fanconi anemia, a disease that threatened to take his life, and challenged people to live well despite it. Henry embraced each opportunity for living completely and reminded the rest of us to do so. His sparkly eyes, mischievous grin and infectious smile was a call to action to smile back, laugh along and dance with him. His ear-to-ear smile and joyous laughter were far more noticeable than his many surgical scars and low-platelet related bruises.
Improving the Lives of Children
Hope for Henry improves the lives of children with life-threatening illnesses by providing carefully chosen gifts and specially-designed programmes to entertain and promote comfort, care and recovery. Hope for Henry brings smiles and laughter, hope and magic into the lives of these children and their families.
Henry suffered plenty of setbacks and spent more nights in the hospital fighting against whatever Fanconi anemia would throw his way, but just when it looked like the disease was too tough of an opponent, Henry would rise up and get back to the life he chose to lead. He had ice cream for dinner and transitioned from the hospital to running a lemonade stand in a matter of minutes.
On December 11, 2002, the unimaginable happened. Henry died. While his parents, family and friends struggle to cope with Henry’s premature death, he is alive and well in their hearts and minds, and every day they strive to be true to the lessons he taught them about the importance of family, friends, love, courage and laughter.
Living Well, Laughing Hard
Henry was the master of living well and laughing hard. To honour his life and share his magical way of making each day matter, they founded the Hope for Henry Foundation. Recognising the restorative effect of laughter and learning, smiles and hope to quality of life and determination to get better for Henry and thousands of children like him.
Hope for Henry Foundation strives to fill their recovery time with fun and entertainment in the form of gifts of their own new DVD players and movies, iPods and iTunes, Gameboy players and games, digital cameras and portable XM Satellite Radios. In addition, they provide hospitals with programmes that bring musical instruments and lessons, and access to computers and digital still and video equipment that provide outlets for distraction, personal growth and recovery.”
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