HOW MR. STRONG FOUNDATION WAS STARTED
Landon Timothy Harrington was born at 32 weeks, on September 30th, 2009. He suffered severe brain damage and is visually impaired, has cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder, sensory processing disorder and is G-tube fed.
When our friend, Jols from Australia came to visit Landon at the NICU, she brought him a Mr. Strong character for Landon’s incubator. We knew right then that Landon was OUR Mr. Strong! Landon’s father, Timothy Harrington Jr. and I realized this little 4 lb. 13 oz. baby was not only our son, but our hero and gift.
As Landon's mother, I began researching foundations that could assist with providing him with additional therapy services after we had exhausted our normal allotment of services provided by our private health insurance. Unfortunately, I did not come across anything that would provide additional funding. I would sit in various waiting rooms and hear horror stories of how other families could not afford the therapy services either for their special needs children and it was absolutely heartbreaking.
So I decided to create a non-profit organization called the Mr. Strong Foundation, Inc. But keep in mind I did not do this to raise money for Landon, in fact not a penny goes to Landon or any of the board members children who have special needs. I did it to support families just like OURS because I know firsthand what it's like to be in your shoes. I believe every special needs child deserves a chance and therapy is their chance, so that's what Mr. Strong Foundation does, it gives these amazing children a chance to succeed in life.
In such a short time, the Mr. Strong Foundation has grown to something bigger than I could have ever imagined. Our board of directors is made up of 100% volunteers and I am so incredibly thankful to each and everyone of them for their hard work and dedication. We wouldn't be successful without each and everyone of them.