Molly was a child with special needs who would beam happiness from the brightest of eyes and had a smile that could light up a room. She died on December 23, 2003 at the age of 10. Her father and mother, Todd Tango and Cathy Tango-Dykes, started the Foundation in her name in March 2004 to help other families who have children with special needs.

The goal of the Foundation is to give guidance and financial support to such families. According to Cathy, “It’s hard enough, many times, taking care of a child with special needs. Then it seems that having the words ‘special needs’ added to the items that are needed to care for your child makes the cost go up. We want to help families facing those costs meet them.”

Molly was born prematurely and her organs were not fully developed. She had brain damage and at her birth, the doctors gave little hope that she would live more than a brief time.

While some items required for Molly’s care were covered by insurance, often only a portion of their cost was covered. It was always a struggle to get the insurance companies to pay up, Todd said. “They’d argue that the item wasn’t a medical necessity. But we believe that kids like Molly should have the ability to do what other kids do. We believe they deserve a quality of life that other children enjoy.”

“Molly was like our little angel,” Todd said. “We were lucky enough to have her with us for 10 years. We don’t want it to be the end. There has to be a purpose there. She forever changed us. She would giggle or smile at you and touched everyone she met.”

Since those early days, the Foundation has grown tremendously each year. Today it has a dedicated 13 member volunteer Board of Directors, hosts two major fundraisers per year and helps more than 50 families annually.