Our Story
HoldYou Foundation helps to remove the financial barriers many families face when their children experience a medical crisis so that they can care for their families with stability, dignity, and love.
Natalie Hill, founder of HoldYou Foundation, has long held the belief that being present in the lives of those suffering is the greatest gift you can give them. As a teenager, she faced a medical condition that led to her spending time in the Oncology Unit at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She was scared and grateful to have the support of her parents and family. But she noticed that many children were there without their parents by their side. If she, as a teenager, needed her mom, how much more did the younger children need their family? She vowed that when she was well again, she would do something to support sick children.
This pivotal moment was brought to the surface again in 2014 when a young relative, Taylor, was struck by a car while crossing the street. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and other critical injuries. As Taylor laid in a medically induced coma, her parents kept vigil by her side. Help came from the affluent community that surrounded her family, but Natalie realized once again that not all families are fortunate enough to have a community that rises up around them. She could see that financial stress presents the greatest challenge for families as they try to navigate lengthy treatments and she held fast to her belief that all children need and deserve their mom and dad by their side. So, in 2016 HoldYou Foundation was born.
In May 2016, HoldYou Foundation supported its first family with assistance to provide stable housing. Their five-year-old daughter, Regina, was being treated for a malignant brain tumor and they were unhoused and living in a hotel.
As of March 2024, the HoldYou community has assisted 570 families, impacting over 2,440 family members with basic need assistance during their child’s medical crisis.
“I had to believe in love and compassion and the idea that people are here on this earth to take care of one another.”
Taylor’s Story
On June 4, 2014, fourteen-year-old Taylor Smith’s day started out like any other normal day. But that afternoon, Taylor and her family’s life would be changed forever.
As Taylor was returning from P.E. class, she crossed the street on a green light in front of her school along with her classmates. At that moment, a speeding car exiting an off ramp onto the road Taylor was crossing, ran a red light and hit three young girls as they crossed. All three girls were hurt badly, but Taylor took the brunt of the hit and suffered a traumatic brain injury along with skull and pelvic fractures.
By day 3 in the ICU, Taylor’s mother, Laurel Carini, knew there was no going back to work and her life as it was. Her “job” now was to focus all her time and energy on Taylor and her little sister Emma. Everything had to work itself out. Somehow, Laurel thought, that’s just the way it had to be.
Taylor spent 64 days in three different hospitals. The days were sad, grueling and filled with lots of ups and downs and many unknowns, but her family never left her bedside.