The foundation formally began in 2004 in loving memory of two parents. Rob Belanger’s dad, Mark, was a shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles for 18 years. Chris Federico’s mom, Susannah, had raised 7 kids. After Mark succumbed to lung cancer in 1998 at age 52 and Chris’s mom died of leukemia in 1995 at age 66, the two friends formed the Belanger-Federico Foundation. In their “spare time” they created an annual Celebrity Golf Tournament with many of Mark’s former teammates and gave all the proceeds to lung cancer research.
After two very successful fundraising years, Rob and Chris were looking to shift the focus of the foundation away from research and onto something more tangible. Little did they know how good their timing would prove to be.
In 2006 Sharon Perfetti had just finished serving as the general coordinator on the Annie’s Playground project in Fallston, MD, and was looking for a way to stay involved with a not-for-profit organization that worked with children. Around the same time Kimmie Meissner, the 2006 World and 2007 National Champion Figure Skater, had lost two close friends to cancer and was looking for a children’s charity to support.
As things tend to happen, Chris and Rob met Sharon and Kimmie through mutual friends, and the idea of the Cool Kids Campaign was born. While deciding on the name of the new foundation, the four co-founders kept in mind that kids are kids, healthy or sick, and that every kid wants to feel “cool” even when they don’t feel well.
Today, as Cool Kids Campaign decides how to best designate dollars to help the kids, their decisions are based on whether the campaign’s actions will directly affect the children and their families. We aim to distract them – at least for a while – while they are fighting for their lives.
Susannah Federico
Mark Belanger
