Friends of NICU/Tim & Elanie Purkis profile picture

Friends of NICU/Tim & Elanie Purkis

I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me

The Foundation was born in Folsom, CA in February of 2007, a little over a year after our twin boys, Matthew and Ryan, were born 10 weeks prematurely (see picture below). They spent 6 + 10 weeks (respectively) in Mercy San Juan’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and with the help of a ton of friends, family and nurses– they are doing great today.We were very fortunate– we had great support from friends and family and we lived only 30 minutes from the hospital. However, after even a few weeks of making that daily drive, it started to become a pain. Naturally the one thing that kept us going was that we would see our babies after that lovely 30 minute drive.Now, imagine if that drive wasn’t half an hour– but 1, 2, or 3 hours– ONE WAY. What if on top of that, both parents have to carry full time jobs to support the family and to maintain healthcare coverage? Out of town family can’t afford to come and visit and you are trying to deal with this life-changing event on your own. After a while, it all starts to feel hopeless, helpless and like there is no end in sight.Hence the Friends of NICU Foundation was born….Our goal is to provide a lift, a helping hand to those families with baby/babies in the NICU so that those parents can focus more time and energy on their baby/babies and less on how to pay for their next tank of gas or putting up a family member (or themselves) in a local hotel.Instead of creating our own nonprofit organization, which would involve quite a bit of admin work and costs, we have decided to team up with Mercy Foundation, which will allow us to focus on what matters most– helping those families in need. Mercy Foundation handles all of the administrative components for the Friends of NICU and because they receive an operating grant from Catholic Healthcare West, there are no fees, so 100% of your gifts supports the Friends of NICU.

My Blog

SacBee Friends of NICU Article

Born too soon Folsom parents set up a fund to help preemies By Cynthia Hubert - Bee Staff WriterPublished 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 21, 2007 The flashing heart monitors. The whooshing respirators. ...
Posted by on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:13:00 GMT

killing time

1. Where is your brother right now?I'm assuming at home2. Last place you kissed someone?outside - playing with Kevy3. Name five things you did today?-Watched Vikings finally win -Cleaned the house -Sa...
Posted by on Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:36:00 GMT

What an Amazing Day

Tim and I were so excited to wake up to check out the SacBee article this morning.  WOW!  We were so surprised how much coverage we got.  Of course, we immediately shared with our famil...
Posted by on Sun, 21 Oct 2007 19:42:00 GMT

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW

Hello all!  I now have the Polar Express tickets for sale.  It's on December 6th, Thursday at IMAX in Sacramento at 6:00pm.  The ticket includes the 3-D film, popcorn and soda. $20 per ...
Posted by on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:23:00 GMT

SAVE THE DATE - December 6th

This is our first Fundraiser - IMAX film, Polar Express, in downtown Sacramento on Thursday, December 6th at 6:00pm.  Please save the date.  More details to come.  
Posted by on Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:24:00 GMT

Families

As of today, we have helped about 20 families.  I believe this is something that's well needed and unfortunately have been overlooked.  The caseworkers we're working with have told us numero...
Posted by on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:48:00 GMT

How you can make a difference

At this time, we are accepting donations of any amount. After speaking with umpteen nurses and doctors and after numerous meetings with program directors, we have decided to distribute your generous d...
Posted by on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:47:00 GMT

How to Donate

There are two ways to donate:..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 1)       By check/money order/cashier's check. Please make ch...
Posted by on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:46:00 GMT

FAQ

1)  What's up with all those monkeys?..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> ·           ;We ask ourselves that e...
Posted by on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:45:00 GMT

Who We Are

The Foundation was born in Folsom, CA in February of 2007, a little over a year after our twin boys, Matthew and Ryan, were born 10 weeks prematurely (see picture below). They spent 6 + 10 weeks (resp...
Posted by on Sun, 22 Jul 2007 21:54:00 GMT