The foundation was founded in New York City, in 2007, by Patrick Donohue, whose daughter, Sarah Jane, was violently shaken by her baby nurse when she was five days old, causing a severe brain injury.
On January 20, 2009, Patrick Donohue sent the first letter to newly inaugurated President Barack Obama calling on him to address the leading cause of death and disability for children and young adults in the United States, Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury.
In April 2009 a controversial app for the iPhone called “Baby Shaker" was released, and the same day discovered by Jennipher Dickens, a mother of a child who had been shaken at 7 weeks old by his then 21-year-old biological father.
The app worked by shaking the iPhone until a pair of thick red Xs appeared over each eye of a baby drawn in black and white.
This is absolutely terrible.” Patrick Donohue sent an email of strong complaint to Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs and several Vice Presidents.
At the Finale ZC Flawless a Drum Line from Chicago, IL was declared the winner of the 2009 American PABI Heroes Tour.
Lystedt, then 13, returned to the field after banging his helmet hard on the ground, and collapsed into his father’s arms following the game as a result of his injuries.
Lystedt’s story inspired Washington state lawmakers to enact legislation in his name protecting student-athletes from repeated brain trauma.
[13] SJBF founder, Patrick Donohue, testified at the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary hearing entitled “Head and Other Injuries in Youth, High School, College and Professional Football” on Monday, February 1, 2010, in Houston, Texas.
All funds would be drawn from the discretionary budget of the Department of Health and Human Services, thereby adding no additional monies to the national debt.
[28] The International Academy of Hope – NYC (iHOPE-NYC) is a highly specialized brain injury school in New York City founded by Patrick Donohue in September 2013.