Learn About Our Organization and Our Mission

About the Foundation

The Aubrey Rose Foundation was founded in memory of our angel, Aubrey Rose. Aubrey was a very happy baby throughout everything she endured. In her honor, the foundation provides support and help for those who seek to be lifted from the complexities of life here on earth and to find greater happiness in those things that could be. Aubrey brought a great light into our lives. Help us pass that light along. The Aubrey Rose Foundation has donated more than $1 million to families with special-needs children.
The Aubrey Rose Foundation honors Audrey’s life with the following:

  • Awarding educational scholarships for students that have made an impact on the people around them.
  • Helping families with financial needs because of their children’s medical expenses.
  • Brightening the lives of sick children by organizing toy buying and holiday parties.
  • Promoting educational awareness about the need for organ donations.
Aubrey Rose Foundation
Aubrey Rose Foundation
  • Healing the World’s Hearts Program – developed by the Foundation with help from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital doctors, surgeons, and corporate support to provide “simple” heart procedures to sick children in the U.S. and developing countries around the world. The “simple” procedures can be performed in the U.S. without follow-up cardiac procedures that can SAVE A CHILD’S LIFE.

LEARN HOW THE AUBREY ROSE FOUNDATION HELPED THE STEIGER FAMILY.  Scroll down to see our video section.

IRS INFORMATION

EIN: 91-2103451. This organization files an IRS Form 990. It is a 501(c)(03) public charity. Information in this report is derived from the IRS Form 990, an annual report filed by nonprofit organizations.

MISSION

Our mission is to help families caring for children with life-threatening illnesses with our focus being on the family unit. We strive to lift families from life’s complexities during this difficult time by providing emotional and financial support.

PHILOSOPHY

To provide a balanced giving program that will put huge smiles on the faces of the children and their families.

Accomplishments

WHAT WE'VE DONE

Awarded 524 Educational Scholarships for students to better themselves. We are on track to give out an additional 35 scholarships each year.

Helped 10,218 families to date with over $1,000,000 in financial assistance. This total is strictly for grants to families and does not include other programs.

Hosted 14 Holiday Parties and organized buying toys and gifts to brighten the lives of sick children at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Dayton Children’s.

Supplied camping items for Camp Joyful Hearts in previous years. Each camper received a backpack, umbrella, rain poncho, flashlight, ball cap, camera, beach ball, and beach towel with the Aubrey Rose Foundation logo on them.

In previous years, hosted an annual Hopeful Hearts for Children-themed picnic complete with decorations, crafts, and dinner so that families of “Heart Kids” can start to build lasting relationships.

Our “Aubrey’s Angels” team for the Heart Mini-Marathon for the American Heart Association has raised over $100,000 to help wipe out the #1 killer – heart disease, and the #3 killer – strokes.

Jerry and Nancy Hollenkamp received the Paul Hackman Award from the LifeCenter Organ Donor Network. The Network encourages and coordinates the donation of human organs and tissues for transplantation.

LifeCenter works with 28 area hospitals to serve the people of the Greater Cincinnati area, including Southwestern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeastern Indiana. The organization works in conjunction with U.S. Tissue and Cell, the Cincinnati Eye Bank, and the Midwest Ear Foundation.

Aubrey Rose Foundation

Nancy Hollenkamp won the NFL Community Quarterback Award in 2002. The Bengals honored Cincinnati's top civic organizations Tuesday at a Paul Brown Stadium luncheon, where Robert S. Edwards of the Freestore/Foodbank took home the club's NFL Community Quarterback award. A panel headed by Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn made the selection from 10 nominees and wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh made the presentation.
Each nominee received $1,000 for their organizations, with the winner getting a $10,000 check. The runnerups, Patricia Stewart of The Salvation Army and Edward D. Diller of Family Service, each received $2,500.
Also nominated were James Douglas Armstrong, Esq., of Victory Neighborhood Services Agency, Inc.; Robert Napier of the Boone County Pee Wee Football League; Liz Herald of Brighton Center, Inc.; Barbara C. Rabkin of Jewish Family Service; Gini Haffner of the Mental Health Association of the Cincinnati Area; Nancy Hollenkamp of the Aubrey Rose Hollenkamp Children's Trust; and Brian Brockhoff of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati.

Aubrey Rose Foundation

IN THE NEWS

The British Car Club took place on Sunday, September 12, 2021.

February 23, 2010
Nathans Prayer

Take a look at the wonderful ways the Aubrey Rose Foundation is helping families with financial needs due to the medical needs of their children:
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THE AUBREY ROSE FOUNDATION: NAMED 2020 NON-PROFIT OF THE YEAR IN THE NON-PROFIT SUPPORT ORGANIZATION
THE AUBREY ROSE FOUNDATION: NAMED 2020 NON-PROFIT OF THE YEAR IN THE NON-PROFIT SUPPORT ORGANIZATION
October 23, 2009
Cincinnati.com ber 23, 2009
Cincinnati.com

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the aubrey rose foundation video's

Aubrey's Story

WHO IS AUBREY ROSE?

Aubrey Rose Hollenkamp was born in Cincinnati on November 12, 1997, six weeks premature. When she was born, the obstetrician said that she has an angel watching out for her because her placenta was tearing away and seconds later, she could have bled to death. This is how Aubrey came into the world! It was a fight right from the start!

It was soon discovered that she had two holes in her heart. Surgery repaired this at 10 weeks of age. At 6 months, she got a clean bill of health, but at 9 months, Aubrey was diagnosed with a condition called “Scimitar Syndrome.” This is an extremely rare situation where two of her pulmonary veins traveled to her liver instead of to her lungs. We went to the Cleveland Clinic for this repair, which included two more open-heart surgeries, a tricuspid valve replacement, and a permanent pacemaker. Aubrey was in the hospital over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year of 1998.

We came home in the middle of January 1999, on oxygen and a feeding tube. Not only did Aubrey have Scimitar Syndrome; she also had right pulmonary vein stenosis, a condition where her pulmonary veins were closing. Aubrey took a turn for the worse on May 4, 1999, and we were life-flighted to Philadelphia on May 7 for a heart and double-lung transplant. We were on the waiting list for 13 days. Aubrey’s lungs started hemorrhaging, and she was put on ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation), which is advanced life support on the morning of May 19, 1999. That afternoon, miraculously, there were organs available and they were a perfect match. It was a very rough road to recovery. Aubrey was in the hospital for 4 months. Through everything that Aubrey has been through, she always kept a smile on her face!

AUBREY'S PICTURES

Every 3 months thereafter, we went back to Philadelphia for biopsies and checkups. One year after the transplant, her doctor found that Aubrey’s right lung was twisted behind her heart and crushing her left lung and Aubrey needed another surgery. The doctors had never seen this before. Aubrey was always teaching the doctors, nurses, and her parents a lesson. So, she had unexpected surgery a few days later to have a lobe of her new lung cut off.

Aubrey was loving life once she recovered from this surgery and we were getting prepared to go back to Philadelphia for her doctor's visit. We could not wait for the doctors in Philadelphia to see how well Aubrey was doing.

We had the shock of our lives on November 10, 2000; at 12:20 a.m., Aubrey passed away suddenly. The autopsy results showed that Aubrey had chronic lung rejection, and unfortunately, there would have been nothing that we could have done about this condition had we known. God took Aubrey quickly and painlessly.

Meet the Board

Aubrey Rose Foundation
Aubrey Rose Foundation

JERRY HOLLENKAMP,
CO-FOUNDER

JERRY HOLLENKAMP, CO-FOUNDER

Jerry Hollenkamp left his sales manager position to start up the embroidery and embellishment business, Writely Sew. This company is the social entrepreneurial side of the Foundation with all of the proceeds going back to fund it. His guidance at leading this effort has resulted in continuous growth for the company and Foundation. He attended Northern Kentucky University on a golf scholarship. He continues his love for golf through his membership at Miami View Golf Club. He is married to Nancy and has 3 children and 5 grandsons: Carly (married to Nick), Spencer (married to Lauren), and Aubrey Rose.

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Aubrey Rose Foundation

NANCY HOLLENKAMP,
CO-FOUNDER

NANCY HOLLENKAMP, CO-FOUNDER

Nancy Hollenkamp retired from Duke Energy after 41 years. Her full-time job now is the Aubrey Rose Foundation. Nancy and her husband Jerry started the Foundation in honor of their 3rd child, Aubrey Rose, who passed unexpectedly 2 days before her 3rd birthday. When Aubrey passed, Nancy and Jerry felt very strongly about wanting to give back and help others so the Foundation was created. Nancy is the Executive Director of the Aubrey Rose Foundation. Together, Nancy and Jerry have 3 children, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law, and 5 grandsons.

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Aubrey Rose Foundation

SPENCER HOLLENKAMP

SPENCER HOLLENKAMP

Spencer Hollenkamp is proud to be Audrey’s older brother. He has been with the Foundation since the beginning. He attended LaSalle High School and went on to Eastern Kentucky University for his business degree. He helps run the production and digitization departments of Writely Sew. He loves being a manager for Writely Sew and seeing the proceeds help fund the mission of the Foundation.

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Aubrey Rose Foundation

KAREN FINLEY

KAREN FINLEY

Karen Finley began her career in Information Technology working at Western-Southern Life Insurance and Cinergy (now Duke Energy). She changed her focus to marketing and has worked in various roles at Cinergy and xpedx, a national distribution company. Karen received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati where she majored in quantitative analysis and marketing. She has experience driving strategy as a board member of AurGroup Financial Credit Union. She volunteers for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry and La Salle and McAuley high schools. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, playing softball, reading, and spending time with her husband and children: Andrew and Lauren.

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Aubrey Rose Foundation

STEVE LOECHTENFELDT

STEVE LOECHTENFELDT

Steve Loechtenfeldt is a mortgage loan officer with AmeriFirst Home Mortgage and loves helping people achieve the “American Dream” of homeownership. He grew up on the west side of Cincinnati and went to Elder High School and further pursued his education at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Business. In his free time, he enjoys watching golf and other sports, coaching his son’s basketball team, and spending time with family.

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Aubrey Rose Foundation

NANCY MUSSER

NANCY MUSSER

Nancy Musser has been with the Foundation since the beginning. Nancy retired from Duke Energy after her 40 years as a manager. She continuously helps with the development of policies and procedures to help the Foundation grow. Working with the Aubrey Rose Foundation, Nancy has been able to utilize her natural generosity and creativity. She is a close advisor to co-founder, Nancy Hollenkamp. She lives in Cincinnati with her husband Cliff.

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Aubrey Rose Foundation

NANCY PIATT

NANCY PIATT

Nancy was raised in Tiffin, Ohio but has called Cincinnati home for the past 20 years. She joined the Foundation after volunteering at many events. Her career is working on print and promotional item sales. She has two kids, Zach and Megan, and two future step-daughters with her fiancé Jason. Together, they have two Rottweilers and an Eclectus parrot. When not working or volunteering, she enjoys boating, walking on the beach, and collecting sea glass.

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Aubrey Rose Foundation

FRANK GRANDE

FRANK GRANDE

Frank was raised in Boson, MA, but has been in Cincinnati for 20 years.  Frank heads up Literature Fulfillment Services in Blue Ash.  He lives in the Liberty Twp. area with his wife Julie and their beautiful two year old daughter.  Frank has been on the Aubrey Rose Foundation board since 2014 and has helped with many things with his specialty being all of the Foundations' mailing needs.

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Aubrey Rose Foundation

ALLIE STEVENS

ALLIE STEVENS

Allie Stevens went to St. Ursula Academy and graduated from Ohio State University in 2017. She is now a CPA and works as an auditor for Grant Thornton. Allie was first introduced to the Aubrey Rose Foundation when she received the Aubrey Rose Foundation Scholarship in 2009. Allie and her family quickly became involved in many Aubrey Rose Foundation events and she received the Above and Beyond Award in 2010 and 2012. Allie truly enjoys volunteering with the Aubrey Rose Foundation and being a part of the process that introduced her to the Foundation.

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Aubrey Rose Foundation

CINDY PETTIT

CINDY PETTIT

 Dr. Cindy Pettit is a pediatric nurse practitioner and  clinical manager at CCHMC in the Department of Anesthesia.  She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the the University of Cincinnati and doctorate from Xavier University.  No matter who wins the Crosstown Shootout, she is an alumni of the winner.  Cindy has three children, Alex, Zach and Miranda, daughter-in-law, Erica and soon to be daughter in law, Jasmine.  The impact and commitment of the Aubrey Rose Foundation in supporting families and children with chronic health conditions, is the reason she became a member of the board. 

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BOARD OF MEDICAL ADVISORS

The following Board of Medical Advisors were all of Aubrey’s Doctors who
have agreed to be advisors for the Aubrey Rose Foundation.

SHARON HARP, M.D.

Queen City Physicians
Children’s Hospital Medical Center Pediatrics

ROBERT L. SPICER, M.D.

Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Cardiology
Faculty Appointment: Professor of Pediatrics

Special Interests: Cardiac Transplantation

JEFFREY M. PEARL, M.D

Phoenix Children’s Hospital, formerly at Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Faculty Appointment: Co-Medical Director

Special Interests: Repair of congenital cardiac defects; cardiac transplantation; hypoxia/reperfusion injury, neonatal myocardial function, and tolerance to heart surgery.

JEFFREY M. PEARL, M.D

Phoenix Children’s Hospital, formerly at Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Faculty Appointment: Co-Medical Director

Special Interests: Repair of congenital cardiac defects; cardiac transplantation; hypoxia/reperfusion injury, neonatal myocardial function, and tolerance to heart surgery.

ROGER MEE, M.B., CH.B, F.R.A.C.S.

Formerly at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Chairman, Department of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery

Special Interests: congenital heart surgery, pediatric heart, and lung transplantation; thoracic and cardiovascular surgery. Joint Appointment with Thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.

ROGER MEE, M.B., CH.B, F.R.A.C.S.

Formerly at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Chairman, Department of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery

Special Interests: congenital heart surgery, pediatric heart, and lung transplantation; thoracic and cardiovascular surgery. Joint Appointment with Thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.

NANCY D. BRIDGES, M.D.

National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, formerly at Children’s Hosp. of Philadelphia where Aubrey was transplanted.
Nancy is now Chief of the Transplantation Immunology Branch.

Special Interests: Dr. Bridges has been involved in the care of children with end-stage cardiovascular disease and those receiving thoracic organ transplants for the past 13 years.

THOMAS L. SPRAY, M.D.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Director, Heart and Heart/Lung Transplantation Services
Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Assistant Cardiologist

Special Interests: Reparative cardiac surgery in infants with complex congenital malformations; cardiac, cardiopulmonary, and pulmonary transplantation.