SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — In honor of their daughter, Rachel and Andre created the Olivia Hudson Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to helping families battling pediatric cancer at Rady Children's Hospital.
"We really wanted to just raise awareness and just help families who are going through a similar struggle," said Rachel Hudson.
Olivia was diagnosed with brain cancer at just two years old and lost her battle just before her 4th birthday.
A few months later, in 2013, the foundation started up and has been going strong ever since, raising money for the hospital and meeting the people they share a connection with.
"We went into the hospital on Olivia's birthday and donated all of these gift bags for families that were in the hematology and oncology department," said Rachel.
This year, with the pandemic making their normal fundraising golf tournament all but impossible, they decided to do a virtual event, called "40,000 in 40 days" — a resounding success, allowing them to finally accomplish a long-term goal.
"And have dedicated a room in honor of our daughter. The plaque recently went up outside her hospital room she was in for months and months," said Rachel.
Rachel and Andre say if Olivia were here today she'd be so happy to see what she inspired.
"She just loved people, she really really did, she would want to help people," said Andre.
To learn more about the Olivia Hudson Foundation, visit the non-profit's website.
