Dedication: My son, Houston who is my inspiration for starting our nonprofit.
My name is Ashley Hall. I am the founder of Houston’s Lift Off. This is Houston’s story. Houston was born at 25 weeks. He was born August 14th, 2015. He weighted 1 pound 3 ounces when he born. He lived 4 1/2 months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit(NICU). He was born at Aultman Hospital in Canton, Ohio. He was transferred to Akron Childrens when he was 3 months old. Houston, unfortunately, he passed away 1 in half months later. He passed away January 5th, 2016,
My daughter at the time was 3 years old. When we were transferred to Akron, we got to stay at the Ronald McDonald house. The Ronald McDonald House is a place to live and eat at while you have a sick child at Akron Childrens. We didn’t have to worry about gas or paying for meals. We got to stay free of charge. There were a lot of families supporting and donating to the NICU while our time in Akron.
After years of trying to figure out how to honor Houston, I came up with our 501 c3 nonprofit. We have been established since April of 2020. We have helped bring joy to 563 NICU families in Canton, Ohio. We donate items such as gas gift cards, food gift cards, hygiene items, stuffed animals, diapers, catered lunches, etc.
Our ending goal is to have housing like the Ronald McDonald house in Canton.
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Photo credit: Photos provided by the storyteller.
