At 22 weeks pregnant, a Newport News mother learned that her baby had Down Syndrome along with heart failure so severe that there was no way he would survive. The mother went on to carry him until 28 weeks and 4 days when she gave birth to her baby boy weighing 1lb 2oz. This little miracle...
When approached by Doug and Rachel about helping with the River Ellis Foundation, the answer was an easy ‘yes’ for Blair. She helps out with development, and comes up with ideas on how to both fundraise and promote the organization. Blair is a Virginia Beach native and has...
Names: Stephen and Cara Cupka City of Residence: Virginia Beach Job Titles/Companies: Stephen – Project Manager (ET Gresham) Cara- Scheduling Engineer (VDOT) How did you first hear about The River Ellis Foundation? When we got the tragic news about River we were at a total loss for words. We...
Annabelle Stiffler focuses on helping to find funding for the River Ellis Foundation through a combination of Donor Gifts, Grants, and Public Engagement. She has been involved with the Foundation since its beginning and has long been a friend of the Ellis Family. In addition to REF, Annabelle is...
A five-year-old boy ended up in the ICU after he was shot outside of his Portsmouth home. After being recently furloughed due to the COVID-19 crisis, his mother needed help purchasing a cell phone to communicate with family about the child’s condition as only one family member was allowed in...