Last year, the RRPF awarded the inaugural Tonio Johnson RRP Patient Scholarship and RRPF Founders Scholarships to three members of the RRP community: Morgan Toll, Raymond Justin So, and Marissa Stiff.
These scholarships celebrate our founders, the Woo and Stern families, and honor the memory of RRP warrior Tonio Johnson (1988-2021).
In 1991, the Woo and Stern families founded RRPF to develop better care for their young daughters.
One of those children, Jennifer, became a physician and RRPF president. Her experience as a patient, combined with her curiosity and scientific rigor, turned into a worldwide effort to find treatments and a cure for RRP.
Tragically in 2009, pulmonary RRP claimed Jennifer’s life. But her legacy lives on every time a member of our community avails themselves to the information and research she developed.
Tonio Johnson was the teddy bear of the RRP community. Although he endured over 250 surgeries and a tracheostomy, he never lost his joy for life or his hope. Tonio was a giver in every sense. Whether it was encouragement for newly diagnosed families, empathy for teenagers with RRP who were trying to find themselves while being robbed of their literal voices, or giving his body, blood and cells to clinical research: Tonio gave. To honor him we created a scholarship that funds the education of an RRP patient - something he would have loved.
Over the next month, the RRPF will tell the remarkable stories of the 2022 scholarship recipients: Morgan, Raymond, and Marissa.
This February, help us raise funding to once again provide these scholarships. Be part of this inspiring initiative and donate so we can again offer scholarships in 2023.
As Tonio and Jennifer knew, every dollar we invest in our RRPF community will come back a thousandfold!
Our community is our hope!