Impact and Give Back | The Berry Strong Foundation
Finding Strength
-Liesel Schmidt
Cancer is a diagnosis that’s devastating at any age, but even more so when that diagnosis is being given to a child. Childhood is a time that should be filled with hope and joy, with laughter and innocence, with learning and exploring and discovering a world that is limitless with possibility. It’s a time when the future is boundless, and an entire lifetime has yet to be lived. But those five little letters can have a huge impact on everything, turning what childhood should be into a dream that might not be within reach.
For the family of Caroline Berry, a diagnosis of cancer when Caroline was 14 years old cruelly shattered their hopes of a normal youth—though the brave teen met her battle with grace and incredible strength. “When our sweet Caroline was diagnosed with cancer in January of 2017, she quickly decided that she wanted her mantra to be BERRY STRONG, and her inspiration during her fight was Matthew 17:20, that faith can move mountains,” recalls her mother, Jennifer.
Sadly, Caroline’s fight ended on Thanksgiving in 2018. But her memory and her mantra became the inspiration for the Berry Strong Foundation, founded in March of 2019 by her mother and her father, Gordon. “During Caroline’s fight with cancer, she became an ambassador for childhood cancer, raising awareness and research funding so that no child would ever have to endure the same battle,” Jennifer explains. “Our sweet Caroline was the epitome of grace, courage, and strength, and she never gave up. It was her wish for her family and friends to continue what she started. She is the inspirations for all that we do, and I am so proud to be her mother.”