Andrea Callaway, The Nephrotic Syndrome Foundation

About this Nominee

Andi founded The Nephrotic Syndrome Foundation in 2017 after her son's own diagnosis and several years of her family's own struggle. Seeing the lack of support for those going through the diagnosis, she took it upon herself to ensure no other child, mother, father or other loved one had to go through their journey alone. Andi has raised over $2,000,000 to support families and children, and built her local, Alamo-based non-profit from the ground up. She has developed and successfully runs eight high quality programs to support families all over the country - even worldwide. From their flagship Backpack of Hope program designed to comfort and support newly diagnosed families, to Camp - hosted in Livermore, CA, to their patient grants program - she stepped up to help others, even when she herself was in the midst of the battle.

The Nephrotic Syndrome Foundation a non-profit organization supporting children diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome, their families and the ongoing search for a cure. There is no other organization that exists to provide direct support to families in this battle.
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Nephrotic Syndrome is a serious and rare auto-immune disease that attacks the kidneys causing them to shut down. There is no known cause or cure. Treatments are extremely limited and consist primarily of steroids, cancer, and transplant medications. Many patients are children who spend a major part of their life in and out of the hospital, trying to find a treatment that keeps them in remission while managing the side effects. Receiving this diagnosis is life-changing. It can take the breath out of any parent or child who finds themselves in this situation.

The goal at NSF is to meet each family and child in these tough times and lift each one up as best we can by providing financial, educational and emotional support to help them weather the times to better health, acceptance, and adjustment.