For daily updates on Joshua Gardner, please visit Josh's blog: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/myjosh

Gardner Family Foundation was founded to raise awareness and work towards a cure for Eosinophilic Gastro Intestinal Disease, also known as EOS (Eosinophilic Disorder).

The Gardner Family Foundation is focused on 4 critical issues:

1. Raising Awareness – this will be driven by social networks in addition to the traditional publicity and Public Relations angles. You can check out our websites at Facebook, MySpace, and www.MTDN.com.

2. Educating Pediatric GI Specialists as well as Pediatricians – with the typical diagnosis time being 3-4 years, we must educate the Doctors on the symptoms and treatments of this disease.

3. Research – we need to do a drastic amount of research to improve our understanding of the disease and the treatment options.

4. Family Relief – as emotionally difficult as this disease is to deal with on a daily basis, when you add the financial pressures that come from what can be a $15-25,000 annual expenses, or more, into the mix, you have tremendous challenges.  The typical family can’t shoulder the enormous financial burden this disease can cause. 


We are looking for three types of contributions to aid us in these four areas. We know we will accomplish so much more by tapping into the combined expertise of everyone around us than we ever would if we had to have all the answers. In this way, this foundation truly belongs to each of you that put some of your heart into it.

1. Ideas – We are looking to each of you for your thoughts and ideas on how we can maximize our efforts to drive specific results. This can include ideas on how to fundraise more effectively, improve treatment, utilize social networking more effectively to get the word out, or to connect with our community in ways we haven’t thought about. We are building a database of “Best Practices for Non-Profits,” which we will share with anyone who has an interest. We will have a form here, but for now, please send all ideas to steve@gardnerfoundation.org.

2. Connections – We are actively seeking connections to any people that have the means and the interest to be involved in ANY way to support this cause. That could range from people in your community that like to put on 5K’s, Bowl-a-Thon’s or golf tournaments for charities, to celebrities with a passion around helping kids in challenging health situations. We are always happy to hear from those who are running their own foundations to support children’s health issues.

3. Donors (the obvious one!) – This isn’t just about money. While we certainly do need donors both big and small, we are also looking for people who would be interesting in donating their time.  If you have a passion about building a database of families living with Eosinophil Disorders, you want to coordinate a fundraiser, or you want to give your time to help support this cause in any way, please let us know. We can accept the following forms of donation:

1. Monetary
2. Non-Cash assets (cars, stocks, etc)
3. And of course, your time, talent and ideas!

watch the video, Life Without Food

This video is courtesy of APFED, a partner in the fight to cure EOS (Eosinophilic Disorders)