CRISTIAN RIVERA FOUNDATION

To create a world without D.I.P.G. by funding research towards a cure, spreading awareness and providing family support. After losing his son to D.I.P.G., Cristian’s life journey inspired his father, John “Gungie” Rivera, to start the Cristian Rivera Foundation, a New Jersey-based 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, in 2009. Today, three children have responded well to the clinical trials conducted by Dr. Mark Souweidane at Weill Cornell Medical Center which we fund. These three children are providing hope and promise to the medical community and to children and families impacted by D.I.P.G. We also focus our funding towards genetic research conducted by Dr. Oren Becher at Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital. We strive to reach our mission through fundraising events, monthly newsletters, media outreach and other methods designed to educate and enlighten those in the community who are not aware of D.I.P.G. and its devastating effect on children and families. Our foundation has also become a source of support, information, and financial assistance to families affected by D.I.P.G. We work with affected families and help them navigate through this difficult process, providing them with the tools they need to understand this horrible disease.