For 41 years, Helen Hammond Redding served as a commercial banker, spending time as a branch manager, area manager, and State Director for Community Development, working with nonprofit organizations to fund programs to assist underserved communities.
That life dramatically changed when her youngest son Christopher, a three-sport athlete at Lake Zurich High School, passed away from an exercise induced asthma attack in 2003.
“Chris had suffered his first asthma attack the year before as a junior in high school while he was running track. At first, we thought it was an isolated event because Chris was strong of mind and body; he didn’t smoke, drink alcohol, nor did he do drugs. We didn’t know the seriousness of asthma. We weren’t really educated about asthma, nor did we know that he should always have his inhaler with him at all times. The second asthma attack, which resulted in his untimely death, occurred the following year. Chris was a freshman at Drake University and a member of the football team. He was home for Thanksgiving and on the day he was to return to college, he went for a jog and collapsed just two blocks from his home. He died instantly.”
Following her retirement in 2013, Helen and her husband Michael established the Christopher D. Redding Youth Asthma Foundation, where she currently serves as the Executive Director, “to assist other families to not undergo the same tragedy that we did, because we didn’t know anything about asthma at the time,” says Hammond Redding.
The organization, which launched operations in 2015, not only offers comprehensive asthma management education, screenings, and workshops, but since 2003 has also awarded scholarships to student athletes who are diagnosed with asthma throughout Illinois, ensuring that young talent isn’t sidelined by a condition that can be managed with proper care.
“Many youth, including student athletes, are undiagnosed and even when diagnosed, a lot of them are embarrassed to publicly use their inhalers as they get older, or they don’t want their peers or coaches to know that they have asthma. We are passionate about educating these youth and families because we don’t want them to experience the same tragedy that our family experienced. Oftentimes, we speak with families who might say, ‘Well, my child had asthma when they were a kid, but they’ve outgrown it.’ We are constantly telling families: ‘They don’t outgrow asthma.’ Maybe they’re just not being subjected to the triggers that cause their asthma attacks or the asthma is being controlled. If they have an inhaler, please ensure that they carry it with them at all times!”
Helen’s commitment extends beyond education. By collaborating with Mobile Care Chicago, who has been managing asthma vans in Cook County for over 25 years, her team was able to assist with programs and participate in health fairs in Cook County. In 2023, this collaboration was extended into Lake County, Illinois, the home county of the Christopher D. Redding Youth Asthma Foundation, with the launch of the Lake County Asthma and Allergy Van. The state-of-the art mobile clinic provides free, high-quality asthma and allergy care to children in the area, particularly those who are uninsured or on Medicaid. The program ensures that families without a provider do not have to resort to frequent emergency room visits to treat their child’s asthma, or worse—go without treating their asthma at all. The Lake County Asthma Van which is staffed by bilingual medical professionals and asthma and allergy specialists, deliver on-site care, regular follow-ups, and provide inhalers and prescriptions at no cost to families who might otherwise face barriers to accessing healthcare.
“We launched this program at our first school in October 2023, and we currently serve more than 25 schools in our primary target areas of Waukegan, North Chicago, and Zion, Illinois. There is a need everywhere and we have begun to branch out into other Lake County communities. We are consistently trying to grow our target base in terms of adding more schools, because there are so many children out there that have undiagnosed asthma, or they have asthma but they can’t afford the treatment. They can’t afford to go to specialists, which is what we have on our van and our specialists treat the children at no cost to the families! The more that we educate our communities and the public about the fact that you don’t have to suffer with asthma, that you don’t have to consistently take your child to the emergency room, or you don’t have to forego treatment with a specialist, the more rewarding it is for us as well as the more we’re helping families, and that’s what I’m all about, just helping families so that they don’t have the same tragedy that we had.”
“While the Christopher D. Redding Youth Asthma Foundation was formed as a result of my own tragedy, it has not been without its challenges. Funding for small nonprofit organizations is generally difficult, as funders often look for operating budgets above a certain dollar threshold. We were fortunate to attend a Community Forum for nonprofit organizations, sponsored by Illinois State Senator Adriane Johnson and Illinois Representative Rita Mayfield in late 2022. Participating nonprofit organizations were given an opportunity to present their organization’s work and financial needs. Several organizations, including the Christopher D. Redding Youth Asthma Foundation, were able to receive funding and support, as a result! These Legislators and other Lake County organizations have continued to be supportive of our work in Lake County!”
Hammond Redding’s dream is to get legislation passed in the name of her son, Christopher, which would require all schools to keep inhalers on the sidelines of athletic events. “I know that they have stock albuterol in the schools now,” says Hammond Redding, “But I think it’s critical to have some inhalers on the sideline for student athletes when they’re out there on the field, because they don’t always have inhalers in their athletic bags.”
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