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The Nigel O. Hodge Foundation Fund
If Nigel Hodge had lived past age 11, he would be with us today, a 24 year old young man. Hodge, a former student at Lockhart Elementary School, died in 1994 as a result of medical mistakes made by doctors treating the youth for Hodgkin’s disease.
Determined Nigel’s death would not be in vain, the Hodge family created the Nigel O. Hodge Foundation (NOH) Fund at the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands using monies from a wrongful death lawsuit.
Established in 1996, the NOH Fund has provided more than $30,000 in direct support, and financial assistance to children afflicted with cancer and other life threatening illnesses in the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean. With the cooperation of American Airlines “Miles for Kids” and donations of “frequent flyer miles” from members of the community, the NOH Fund has also helped sick children and their families save thousands of dollars in travel costs to get medical treatments not available at home.
The Hodge fund is administered by the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, which helps to identify families in need throughout the Caribbean and coordinates the distribution of funds to those families.
The Fund has expanded its scope to assist the families of children in the Virgin Islands public schools with emergency needs. Annual Walk-a-thon’s to commemorate Nigel’s birthday assist in providing funding for the work and also serve as an opportunity to expand the volunteer network of the NOH Fund.
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Thanks to the Nigel O. Hodge Fund …
- A 7-month old child who had two club feet was sent to a pediatric orthopedist in Puerto Rico for leg casts each week for three months. The child’s treatment was completed and the child will not need an operation.
- A 13-month old was helped with treatment for a rare muscle cell cancer in Puerto Rico.
- A teenager was helped with cancer treatment here in the VI.
- A young lady from St. Thomas was able to fly to Philadelphia for a total hip replacement.
- A Bahamian family was able to pay for travel costs to send their young daughter to Miami to donate bone marrow to her 18-year-old brother, suffering from leukemia.
- A 14-year-old child from Dominican Republic was able to complete her radiation therapy.
- A 5-year-old St. Lucia boy, diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, received rehabilitative therapy services through the Nigel Hodge Fund.
- A 13-year-old St. Thomas boy with systemic Lupus was able to travel to Atlanta for medical treatment.
- A 4-year-old St. John girl and her parents were flown to Miami so the child could receive treatment for bone cancer.
- A summer camp in the USVI was held for children suffering from chronic asthma.
- Holiday gifts were provided for the adolescents at Sea View Nursing Facility.
- A reception was held at Roy Lester Schneider Hospital for sick and disabled children.
- A 10-year-old St. John boy and a family member were flown to Atlanta on two occasions to receive care from two specialists which the Territory does not have.
- A 15-year-old young woman with multiple disabilities received a multi-functional wheelchair that will help her move around much easier.
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Photo Gallery
Lockhart Elementary School students Monday in Emancipation Garden after a walk in memory of Nigel Hodge. About 400 students in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades at Lockhart walked from the school to Emancipation Garden to honor Nigel, a Lockhart sixth-grader who died of Hodgkin's disease in 1994. The event raised money to launch a new charity fund that will aid Lockhart students' families who need assistance with emergencies ranging from gaps in medical coverage to off-island funerals.
Tehalia Dancers Performance
Lockhart Elementary School Walkathon
J. Antonio Jarvis Elementary School Walkathon
The Nigel O. Hodge Foundation Fund also supports
The Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Center at Schneider Regional Medical Center
The American Cancer Society of St. Thomas |
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