Ellie's Army Foundation

Our goal is to alleviate the financial burdens and stressors that families of children and young adults with life-threatening illnesses are experiencing. By providing them with much needed financial assistance, these families are able to then focus on their child's fight to survive (rather than how they are going to pay their next bill).

Ellie's Army Foundation has several strategies that are in place to help address the myriad of problems that children, young adults, and their families face due to the diagnosis of life-threatening illness. Through social media, contact with doctors, nurses, hospital social workers, and word of mouth, we reach out to families dealing with financial insecurity. We then work with each applicant on an individual basis to help ascertain how to best meet their needs. We provide assistance with medical bills, Insurance co-pays, and other medical costs associated with each child's or young adult's specific needs. We help pay for mortgage, rent and utility bills, food, clothing, and emergency expenses. In an effort to address the specific population of cystic fibrosis patients that have had a transplant and are facing financial issues, we have set up Ellie's Fund at Duke University Medical center.

Ellie's Army Foundation is led by Founder, Stacey Levy, who was a parent of a child with a life-threatening illness. The foundation's dedicated staff has an understanding and depth of knowledge regarding the issues faced by these families. Historically, the foundation has taken a "hands-on approach" with each individual applicant affording its team the ability to identify the problem and form an action plan that is most helpful in each case. Through a large network of doctors, nurses, social workers, and social media support and awareness groups, the foundation is able to reach these families. Ellie's Army Foundation's fundraising efforts have helped meet the financial needs of the families who have applied for assistance. Ellie's Army Foundation has a growing network of dedicated supporters who believe in its mission and are committed to continuing to help as many of these families as possible.

Ellie's Army has been able to expand its original mission from an organization that only offered assistance to families of children afflicted with cystic fibrosis, to now offering assistance to all families of children and young adults with any life-threatening illness. We have expanded our program at Duke University Hospital (Ellie's Fund) to assist lung transplants patients in need of assistance. As we continue to help families in need, we are receiving phenomenal feedback on what we are doing for them. Our ability to tell the individual stories through the family's testimonials helps raise awareness and funding. These stories are critical in communicating to donors firsthand how their contributions truly transform lives.