enCourage Kids Foundation Honoring Healthcare Heroes

NEW YORK, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Exactly one year after the cancellation of the 35^th Anniversary Gala Celebration of the enCourage Kids Foundation (EKF) and one year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, EKF is celebrating its hospital partners and dedicated doctors, nurses, child life specialists, social workers and other healthcare professionals through the foundation's online fundraising effort with the goal of raising $1 million.

Through its Honoring Healthcare Heroes Campaign, EKF will be highlighting stories of individuals in the healthcare industry who faced the past year and every day with courage and resilience and who make an immeasurable impact on the lives of their patients and families. The Pediatric Healthcare Hero Honorees are Meghan Kelly, Child Life Program Director - Children's Hospital at Montefiore; Dr. Gerald Loughlin, Professor of Pediatrics - Weill Cornell Medicine/New York - Presbyterian; Nicole Perez, Coordinator of Child Life Services - NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst; and Dr. Kusum Viswanathan, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology - Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center. https://www.ekf-heroes.org

"I'm so proud of the healthcare workers who risk their lives each and every day, especially during the pandemic," said Michele Hall Duncan, President and CEO, EKF. "They're our true heroes and I'm grateful to work closely and assist them with their needs for hospitalized children that they care for." Funds raised will support projects and therapies that hospital budgets do not cover but help kids cope with illness and stress, provide distractive therapies and educate on diagnosis while also addressing the gap in health disparities.

Hall-Duncan was recognized and selected to CRAIN's New York exclusive Notable Black Leaders & Executives list. https://www.crainsnewyork.com/awards/notable-black-leaders-and-executives-2021-michele-hall-duncan

Krost + Fila identified EKF as a charity that they bring awareness and percentage of sales to their mission. https://krostnewyork.com

About enCourage Kids Foundation

Since 1985, EKF has helped humanize healthcare for children and their families by resourcing impact-driven pediatric programs and supporting the Child Life Community. Serving nearly one million children annually, EKF is focused on making hospitals a better place to get better. www.encourage-kids.org

About Michele Hall-Duncan

Hall-Duncan began her career at EKF as a volunteer in 1996 and quickly rose within the organization to President and CEO. She is a member of Child Life of Greater New York and serves on the Diversity Task Force for the Association of Child Life Professionals. She is a Board of Trustees Vice Chair for Children's Specialized Hospital Foundation; Board Secretary of the NYC chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals where she serves the Professional Advancement Committee, Chair of the Nominating Committee and Chair of the Committee on Directorship, and Advisory Board member of STOMP Out Bullying^TM, where she received the Public Service Leadership Award. Hall-Duncan has a B.A. in Advertising and is an active associate member of the Essex Hudson Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. She has been featured in L.A.'s The Wave Newspaper, Authority Magazine, CRAIN'S, Business News Daily, Medium, Thrive Global, Social Lifestyle, Industry Rules, Resident and networks NY1, CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC7, PIX11, and more.

Media:
MJ Pedone - Indra PR
[email protected]
(917) 319-9600

Related Images

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Nicole Perez, Coordinator of Child Life Services - NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst

Related Links

enCourage Kids Foundation website

SOURCE enCourage Kids Foundation