 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2019) |
Compassion Can't Wait, formerly known as the Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation (ASRL), [1] is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity in the United States that provides financial assistance to single caregivers of seriously ill children for urgent expenses ranging from essentials (such as food, transportation, utilities, and medications) to funds for rent and mortgage payments.[ citation needed ]
"When compassion can't wait and single parent families are in despair, the Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation helps with urgent expenses to allow these caregivers to stay at their child's bedside during catastrophic illness."[ citation needed ]
The Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation was founded by Valerie Sobel,[ when? ] a refugee from Hungary's Communist era, in January 2000 to honor the memory of her 19-year-old son Andre, who died of a brain tumor in 1995. Within the year following the loss of her son, Valerie lost her mother and, a year to the day after Andre's death, her husband Erwin took his own life. Valerie decided to begin helping single-parents of seriously ill children in grave need of financial assistance. Under her guidance, over $3.7 million in grants has been awarded to 2,600 families in the past eight years through partnerships with pediatric hospitals across the country.[ citation needed ]
When no other resources are available, social workers at affiliated children's hospitals request funds on behalf of single-parent families in financial crisis. The foundation responds in 24 hours, and without additional paperwork, because the families' social workers have already verified their need.[ citation needed ]
The Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation also offers an annual Essay Award that honors the young survivors of a catastrophic illness.
The Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation works exclusively through a number of pediatric medical facilities, such as:[ citation needed ]
The Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation received a $300,000 grant from the Genentech Foundation to provide support through their Everyday Needs Assistance program in April 2009. [2] In summer 2008, the Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation received a $25,000 grant from the Million Dollar Roundtable Foundation in support of ASRL's mission. [3] The Patricia Henley Foundation, located in Santa Barbara, California, pledged a four-year, $20,000 commitment to ASRL in support of children with severe respiratory conditions in December 2008. [4]
In addition, Ms. Sobel was voted "Best Caregiver" in the Best of America 2008 issue of Reader's Digest. She also appeared in the April 2, 2007, edition of People magazine in an article entitled "A Mother's Bereaved Heart." [5] Ms. Sobel was featured in the February 2007 edition of Lifestyles Magazine, and appeared on the Montel Williams Show in July 2007. Ms. Sobel has appeared numerous times in radio interviews, including Voice of America and The Lisa Birnbach Show.
Ms. Sobel has also been honored with both the Los Angeles Business Journal's Women Making A Difference: 2007 Philanthropist of the Year Award and the National Association of Women Business Owners' (NAWBO) Philanthropist of the Year.[ citation needed ]
In July 2009, Ms. Sobel was named a Purpose Prize Fellow, recognizing social innovation among leaders over the age of 60 in their second careers.[ citation needed ]
Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced heart disease than for injury. In popular use, it indicates a disease that will progress until death with near absolute certainty, regardless of treatment. A patient who has such an illness may be referred to as a terminal patient, terminally ill or simply as being terminal. There is no standardized life expectancy for a patient to be considered terminal, although it is generally months or less. Life expectancy for terminal patients is a rough estimate given by the physician based on previous data and does not always reflect true longevity. An illness which is lifelong but not fatal is a chronic condition.
Hand transplantation, or simply a hand transplant, is a surgical procedure to transplant a hand from one human to another. The donor hand, usually from a brain-dead donor, is transplanted to a recipient amputee. Most hand transplants to date have been performed on below-elbow amputees, although above-elbow transplants are gaining popularity. Hand transplants were the first of a new category of transplants where multiple organs are transplanted as a single functional unit, now termed vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA).
Maria Altmann was an Austrian-American Jewish refugee from Austria, who fled her home country after it was annexed to the Third Reich. She is noted for her ultimately successful legal campaign to reclaim from the Government of Austria five family-owned paintings by the artist Gustav Klimt that were stolen by the Nazis during World War II.
The University of California, Irvine School of Medicine is the medical school of University of California, Irvine, located in Irvine, California. It is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
City of Hope is a private, non-profit clinical research center, hospital and graduate school located in Duarte, California, United States. The center's main campus resides on 110 acres (45 ha) of land adjacent to the boundaries of Duarte and Irwindale, with a network of clinical practice locations throughout Southern California, satellite offices in Monrovia and Irwindale, and regional fundraising offices throughout the United States.
María Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament, also called "Mother Luisita" was a Mexican Catholic religious sister who founded the Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mexico and the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. She is under consideration for sainthood, having been declared venerable.
Harbor–UCLA Medical Center is a 570-bed public teaching hospital located at 1000 West Carson Street in West Carson, an unincorporated area within Los Angeles County, California. The hospital is owned by Los Angeles County and operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, while doctors are faculty of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, who oversee the medical residents being trained at the facility.
The Arthritis Foundation is a nonprofit organization addressing the needs of people living with arthritis in the United States.
Jackson Memorial Hospital, also referred to as Jackson or abbreviated MJMH, is a non-profit, tertiary care hospital, and the primary teaching hospital of the University of Miami's School of Medicine. As of 2021, it is the largest hospital in the United States by number of beds, according to Becker's Hospital Review.
Torrance Memorial Medical Center is a private hospital located in Torrance, California. Torrance Memorial was the first hospital in the South Bay region and is currently one of the three burn centers in Los Angeles County.
Esther Somerfeld-Ziskind was an American neurologist and psychiatrist. She conducted pioneering research into the use of insulin, lithium, and electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. She was the daughter of Czech and Romanian immigrants. She received her medical degree in Chicago, Illinois, and her Masters in Los Angeles, California. After marrying Eugene Ziskind, they opened their own practice. Somerfeld-Ziskind was later chair of the psychiatry department at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Dennis Joseph Slamon, is an American oncologist and chief of the division of Hematology-Oncology at UCLA. He is best known for his work identifying the HER2/neu oncogene that is amplified in 25–33% of breast cancer patients and the resulting treatment trastuzumab.
Ace Andres is an American guitarist, songwriter, vocalist, and political activist. The Wave Magazine of Silicon Valley, referred to Ace Andres' music in its October 2005 issue as "fast, loud, unapologetically confrontational rock." The Wave Magazine went so far as to refer to Ace as a Guitar god. In a later issue, The Wave Magazine would use Ace Andres as a synonym for a guitar virtuoso.
Andrew Paul Ordon, M.D., F.A.C.S., ABPS, ASPS, sometimes billed as Dr. Drew Ordon, is an American plastic surgeon and an Emmy-nominated co-host of the award-winning talk show The Doctors.
The Liz Logelin Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established to financially assist widows and widowers with young families, regardless of parental marital status or sexual orientation. The foundation offers no-strings attached financial grants to those individuals with dependent children who have lost a parent, as well as resources for the newly bereaved. The Liz Logelin Foundation's namesake is Elizabeth 'Liz' (Goodman) Logelin, who died one day after giving birth in 2008. The organization was established in her honor by her husband, Matthew Logelin, to help other grieving families. As of 2011, the foundation has provided grants to over 70 families, reaching over 150 children.
The Lopez Family Foundation is an American nonprofit organization founded by sisters, Jennifer Lopez and Lynda Lopez in 2009. Although the sisters had wanted to create a charitable foundation for years, it wasn't until Jennifer's daughter Emme experienced a medical scare when they did. At the age of three weeks, a bump was discovered on Emme's head. Although she was okay, Jennifer felt that there are mothers and children who didn't have proper medical care and access to health systems. The sisters then partnered with Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the Telemedicine program to develop 'The Maribel Foundation'. It was named after Jennifer's then-husband Marc Anthony's sister Maribel, who died due to a brain cancer at age 8. While also partnering with companies such as Samsung and Best Buy, the foundation works to increase the availability of health care and health education to the less fortunate. As of 2012, its name has been changed to The Lopez Family Foundation. The foundation's slogan is Where children are concerned, there is no time to lose.
Gloria Taylor was a Canadian who was an advocate of medically-assisted dying and suffered from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Taylor began to experience the early symptoms of ALS in 2003. A neurologist diagnosed her disease in 2009.
Starlight Children's Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1982. Starlight's programs include providing hospital wear, games, and deliveries to hospitalized children. The programs are provided directly to children through Starlight's network of more than 700 children's hospitals and other community health partners throughout the world. Starlight's US operations are based in Los Angeles, California. Starlight also operates in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and possibly other countries, though their websites are unclear about their global operations.