THE KENDALL BURROWS FOUNDATION INC
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Mission Statement
The mission of the Kendall Burrows Foundation is to optimize the quality of life for children and their families facing critical illness, as well as to raise awareness of the need to bolster whole blood and platelet donations to ensure available supplies during a patient’s most difficult times. The Kendall Burrows Foundation was founded by the Deb and Dave Burrows to honor the memory of their daughter, Kendall, who passed away from Evan’s Syndrome in 1996. During her lifetime, Kendall was an inspiration for how she lived with grace and strength despite intermittent and sometimes lengthy hospital stays. She stands for all children who must face incredible odds and yet do so with a smile on their face.
About This Cause
Kendall's Story: Kendall Alyson Burrows was diagnosed at age three with a rare autoimmune disease known as Evan’s syndrome, which is when the body makes antibodies that destroy red and white blood cells and platelets. Patients with Evan’s contract scary blood conditions, such as thrombocytopenia and Coombs’ positive hemolytic anemia, and have no other known underlying etiology. The specific cause of Evan’s syndrome is unknown and there have been no genetic links identified even though her mother, Deborah, was diagnosed with Evan’s at the age of 16. Throughout her lifetime, Kendall was in and out of remission with Evan’s. When in remission, she was a happy, normal little girl who enjoyed a plethora of activities, including contact sports, go-carting and all forms of dance. When her blood levels were reduced to life-threatening numbers, she was unable to participate and was often hospitalized, needing monitoring and resulting in many forms of therapy including a splenectomy, chemotherapy, plasmapheresis, intravenous immune globulin, and high doses of steroids. She was a model patient although she did tend to give her doctors a run for their money. She required hundreds and hundreds of blood transfusions in her short lifetime. In the last three weeks of her life, she needed 50-60 units of blood (a lot) a day to stay alive. Her family luckily never had to worry about the blood supply; each day boxes arrived from all over the country which helped sustain her throughout her ordeal. As a thank you, her family had organized a blood drive with the American Red Cross at Dulaney High School. Unfortunately, Kendall lost her battle to Evan’s the day before the blood drive, on May 31, 1996. The media was instrumental in promoting this drive and it is still considered to be the largest single donor blood drive in the history of the American Red Cross. Her family was present to thank everyone for their efforts. Kendall Burrows impacted not only a family, but an entire community. The Kendall Burrows Foundation was then formed in 1996 by her parents, Deborah (Deb) and Dave Burrows, to build upon the strength and passion that Kendall exuded every day and to help other children and families facing similar challenges. Deb’s Dream – Connection to Palliative Care: One of Deb’s biggest regrets was that her family and children, including Kendall, did not receive enough overall support of mind, body and spirit when Kendall was in the hospital. Support was needed for Kendall, her family, and friends; let’s not forget the doctors and nurses that were caring for her day every day. These doctors and nurses face challenging circumstances and often must return to work the day after a tragic loss. Palliative Care to support all the above was always in the back of Deb’s mind and when the idea was introduced to relaunch the foundation with a new mission and marquee event, Deb was the first to propose funding for support services. After Deb and Dave reached out to their contacts at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, it was confirmed that Palliative Care was on the forefront of everyone’s mind and they were truly in need of funding to support their new initiatives at the hospital. In 2014, the Kendall Burrows Foundation launched their new mission and new website and announced their annual fundraising event called “Footloose: Because She Just Wanted to Dance.” Dancing was always a pastime for the Burrows Family, especially Kendall, and Footloose represented the soul and grace that Kendall exuded when she was healthy. Palliative Care (pronounced pa·lee·uh·tiv): WHO (World Health Organization) Definition of Palliative Care for Children: “Palliative care for children represents a special, albeit closely related field to adult palliative care. WHO’s definition of palliative care appropriate for children and their families is as follows; the principles apply to other pediatric chronic disorders (WHO; 1998a): • Palliative care for children is the active total care of the child's body, mind and spirit, and also involves giving support to the family. • It begins when illness is diagnosed, and continues regardless of whether or not a child receives treatment directed at the disease. • Health providers must evaluate and alleviate a child's physical, psychological, and social distress. • Effective palliative care requires a broad multidisciplinary approach that includes the family and makes use of available community resources; it can be successfully implemented even if resources are limited. • It can be provided in tertiary care facilities, in community health centers and even in children's homes.” Johns Hopkins Children’s Center – Pediatric Palliative Care “Johns Hopkins Children’s Center provides palliative care — the comprehensive management of the physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs of children with life-limiting conditions and their families — through the Harriet Lane Compassionate Care program. Our goal is to achieve the best possible quality of life for the child and family, and when death is inevitable, to support the child and family through the dying process and in bereavement. Our services include pain and symptom control, psychosocial and spiritual support, advance care planning and bereavement support. As the only hospital in Maryland with a pediatric palliative care program, we assist patients from prenatal to young adult in every center and program in the Children’s Center. Our interdisciplinary team, which includes doctors, nurse practitioners, chaplains and a counselor/child life specialist, provides an added layer of support to families as they pursue life-altering treatments and interventions.” History Timeline: January 19, 1987 – Kendall Alyson Burrows was born. 1990 – Kendall was diagnosed with Evan’s Syndrome at the age of 3. 1990 – 1996 – Kendall was in an out of the hospital for weeks at a time, often at the same time as Deb due to her challenges with Evan’s Syndrome, which made it very challenging for Dave and the kids to maintain a “normal” lifestyle, supporting each other the best they could. May 31, 1996 – Kendall Alyson Burrows succumbed to Evan’s Syndrome at the age of 9. June 1, 1996 – Deb and Dave organized and attended one of the most successful blood drives in the history of the Red Cross exactly one day after Kendall had passed. Fall 1996 – The Kendall Burrows Foundation was founded by the Deb and Dave Burrows to honor the memory of their daughter, Kendall, who passed away from Evan’s Syndrome in 1996. During her lifetime, Kendall was an inspiration, living with grace and strength despite intermittent and sometimes lengthy hospital stays. She stands for all children who must face incredible odds and yet do so with a smile on their face. 1996 – Present – The Kendall Burrows Foundation organized an annual blood drive at Dulaney High School. Deb and Dave granted scholarships to student(s) that donated blood for the first time and wrote an essay describing their experience. 2014 – The Kendall Burrows Foundation was relaunched with new mission, website and new marquee event: “Footloose: Because She Just wanted to Dance” gala. October 17, 2014 – The 1st annual Footloose Gala raised $20,000 for palliative care at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. October 16, 2015 – The 2nd annual Footloose Gala raised $25,000 for palliative care at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. October 21, 2016 – The 3rd annual Footloose Gala raised $30,000 for palliative care at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. October 20, 2017 – The 4th annual Footloose Gala raised $60,000 for palliative care at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. October 19, 2018 – The 5th annual Footloose Gala raised $70,000 for palliative care at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. October 11, 2019 – The 6th annual Footloose Gala raised $100,000 for palliative care at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. April 26, 2020 – The 24th annual blood drive in remembrance of Kendall Burrows was held at Dulaney High School. October 9, 2020 – The 7th annual Footloose “007 Edition” was cancelled due to the challenges around the pandemic. October 15, 2021 - The 7th annual Footloose gala was rescheduled and was held at the Delta Hotels Marriott in Hunt Valley, Maryland. October 7, 2022 - The 8th Annual Footloose gala was held at the Delta Hotels Marriott in Hunt Valley, Maryland. October 20, 2023 - The 9th Annual Footloose gala was held at the Delta Hotels Marriott in Hunt Valley, Maryland. October 11, 2024 - The 10th Annual Footloose gala is scheduled to be held at the Sheraton Towson Hotel.