Mission

The mission of The Julia Foundation is to help families who have children in the NICU or the PICU, with their financial obligations so they can spend more time, at the hospital, with their children.

Goals

We aim to provide financial assistance to as many families with children, in the hospital, as possible. The average cost of a 4 day PICU stay, for the parents, is roughly $50 per day. This does not include insurance costs for the child. That $50 is strictly for travel to and from the hospital, and food for the parents. It does not include medical expenses for the child, loss of work for the parents, or household expenses. For many parents, that can be an insurmountable cost. No parent should have to choose between their child, and paying bills. Our goal is to make sure that will never happen.

History

The Julia Foundation was created in memory of Julia Irene Ogle. She was born prematurely at 24.4 weeks on June 8, 2008, weighing 1 lb 6.5 ozs. She spent roughly 3 weeks in the NICU at Hutzel Hospital in Detroit, MI. While there, her parents tried to spend as much time with her as possible, but because of work and having 2 other young children at home, there were days she was there alone. That was heartbreaking for her mother, Jenna Ogle. While at the hospital, Jenna noticed how many babies were left alone all the time. The nurses told her how many of them received very little visitation because the parents simply can’t be there due to work. That was when Jenna decided those parents needed a support system. Sadly, Julia died on July 1, 2008. The support system would have to wait. Then on December 1, 2016, Jenna’s oldest daughter, Olivia, was diagnosed with an extremely rare skull based tumor. Again, life got flipped upside down. Olivia required a very lengthy and risky surgery that was 22 hours long in order to remove the tumor. She then required another 9 hour surgery the very next day. After her surgeries, and because of multiple complications, Olivia spent 8 weeks in the hospital at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI. While Olivia was there, so was Jenna. This time, she never left. Again, Jenna noticed how many children did not have visitors in the PICU. Sometimes, the only people those children would see were the nurses and doctors for days. It was then that Jenna knew what she had to do, and that’s when creating the support system for those families who couldn’t be there went into overdrive. The Julia Foundation was founded in May of 2018. Almost 10 years exactly after Julia’s birth. We are very excited about the chance to help as many people as possible in her honor. If we can help even just one family spend one hour more with their children, then it will all be worth it.

Need Help?

Jenna Ogle

248-877-4948

thejuliafoundation@gmail.com

Please complete the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Events

the julia foundation taste & donate

The first annual wine & beer tasting event was a huge success, raising close to $12,000! We can’t wait until next year! Thank you to all of you that attended, and we hope you will join us again.