07/31/2026
Just a reminder of why we do what we do ❤️
In 1990, the Rhoade family suffered one of the worst situations a family can experience. They lost their 7 year-old daughter/sister - Jennifer Rhoade - to Chicken Pox Pneumonia due to complications from an autoimmune condition called Job’s Syndrome.
Jennifer was a patient of the Children's Hospital at the Milton S. Hershey Penn State Hospital since she was 15 months old, and was declared a “Miracle Child” for Lebanon County by the Children's Miracle Network (CMN). Job’s Syndrome Still to this day is extremely rare and has no cure. At least twice a year, Jennifer would move in to the 7th floor of the Hershey Med Center for five to eight weeks at a time for treatment for one (but usually multiple) complications.
Job’s Syndrome Essentially meant Jennifer’s body did not know the difference between disease and healthy tissue, and could not regulate what was harmful and what was beneficial. It typically presents as extreme eczema, cold abscesses, an elevated white blood cell count, and in Jenny’s case, an enlarged spleen and inflamed organs. When Jenny contracted chicken pox, as many 7 year olds do, her immune system could not fight it off and the chicken pox became so severe that they spread into her lungs. After a multiple day battle at the hospital, a familiar place for the Rhoade family at that point, Jennifer passed on March 14th 1990.
Rik Rhoade had been employed at the Lebanon Alcoa plant for all of Jennifer’s life. In 1991, the members of the local union at Alcoa - The Aluminum, Brick and Glass Workers 445 - decided to designate The Children's Miracle Network as the official charity of the union. For the next 11 years, both the Local 445 and the ALCOA Foundation supported the Children's Miracle Network to help better the lives of the kids of our area. Rik and his co-workers to dedicated to keeping other families from experiencing the same type of loss.
In 2002, the Lebanon ALCOA plant shut down - which meant the loss of the union’s support as well as the support of the ALCOA Foundation. Even with the loss of their jobs and uncertain futures for themselves, these former union members were more concerned with how they would be able to continue to take care of the kids who might need the services of the Children's Hospital in Hershey. Rik and a group of former employees, including Andrew Rhoade, Jennifer’s brother, decided to take things into their own hands, and Incorporate into the “445 Foundation”, in dedication to the Local 445 ABGWIU union that started the desire to raise money in Jenny’s memory.
Over the next 20+ years, members of the 445 have come and gone. Some retired and others moved away. But the 445 kept going strong. Each new version of the group brought new ideas and experiences to the table. Rik remains the only current member from the original six union members, and Andrew stepped into the President role in 2016. Many friends and family that knew Jenny, or had come to learn her story, have joined as either official members or have simply helped at events.
The 445 still raises money for the CMN by hosting dances, bingos, golf tournaments and other creative and fun events. All money raised by the 445 Foundation stays LOCAL, specifically going directly to benefit the CMN services at Penn State Children’s Hospital at Hershey Medical Center.
