Meet Donovan

Donovan is a 14 year old boy who was diagnosed with severe Crohn’s disease in 2005. Sadly, Donovan has chronic flare-ups of the disease, which are excruciatingly painful and require inpatient hospital stays, interrupting his school work and life as a normal teenager. Ever since his diagnosis, Donovan’s mother has searched for a job that is flexible enough to allow her time off to care for her son, but has had difficulty finding one that also pays the bills. She is a single mother, and every month struggles to pay off her basic household expenses because of her very limited income. When she fell behind on her gas electric and phone bills, she requested for ASRL to pay off the expense. Since then, she has worked out payment plans with the utilities so she can keep the house comfortable for Donovan. ASRL’s help has brought her up to speed, and allowed her to stay focused on her son when he needs it most.

[top]

The Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation (a 501(c)(3) public charity) provides emergency assistance within 24 hours to single caregivers of children with catastrophic or life threatening illnesses who are in financial crises. Working in partnership with 12 pediatric hospitals nationally, we have helped over 7,000 family members in the past nine years. Without ASRL’s support, many children with life threatening illnesses would be facing pain, treatments, fear, and at times, even their death, without a parent by their side.