Client Spotlight: Jennifer S. and the Secret Elves
Horizons in Hemophilia, March 2012
By Karen Daniel, Marketing and Communications Director
Jennifer is a busy mother of two, a wife, a step-mother, a FedEx employee, an Avon Representative and the founder of Secret Elves, a new non-profit organization. Jennifer and her husband Chris are the parents of an 11-year-old son named Dylan and a baby daughter Reagan who was born in July.
Jennifer’s family has been involved with Hemophilia of Georgia since Dylan was eight months old. According to Jennifer, “Hemophilia runs in the family but I never got tested to see if I was a carrier and when Dylan was born I didn't think to get them to test him. He never had any problems with bleeds until he was 8 months old. He was admitted to the hospital for a high temperature and they pricked his finger. It would not quit bleeding and we told them test him for hemophilia because it runs in the family.”
The family has participated in a number of HoG events including family camp and other family outings. Dylan has also attended Camp Wannaklot several times. Jennifer says meeting the wonderful people through HoG has been very helpful. She is also appreciative of her nurse, Mary Ann. “If I have any questions I can always call Mary Ann and ask her and she will tell me what I should do.” Mary Ann also visits Dylan’s school every year. “HoG has been very helpful with the school system. I go meet with all of Dylan's teachers before school starts to explain to them that he has hemophilia, what to look for what they should do. I answer questions for them but then Mary Ann goes to the school a couple of weeks after school has started and shows a PowerPoint presentation and answers any questions they have. I always have teachers coming up to me saying that they really appreciated Mary Ann coming in to talk to them.”
In addition to his hemophilia, Dylan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in September, 2009. Jennifer has always wanted to help people. She decided recently that she would like to raise money for cures for hemophilia and diabetes and to help families who are also directly affected by hemophilia and diabetes. According to Jennifer, “I wanted to do fundraisers in my hometown to raise money for a cure, but didn't know what to do. I posted it on Facebook and had so many people backing me up and wanted to help out.”
Jennifer’s nonprofit, The Secret Elves, will collect toys and books and deliver them to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Christmas time, along with gift cards for the parents whose children are hospitalized. Jennifer says “We will also be doing fundraisers throughout the year and looking for companies that would like to sponsor us. Some of the proceeds will go to find a cure for hemophilia and Type 1 diabetes. Another thing we will be doing is helping families in need. We will help with bills if a family needs help getting through a difficult time.”
Jennifer says her group wants to “bring a smile to the children and the families’ faces when we deliver toys and help pay bills. We want to be able to contribute to finding a cure for hemophilia and Type 1 diabetes.”
Additional information about the Secret Elves is available on Facebook.