Ellie Cooper
We were thrilled for the family of 3-year-old Ellie Cooper when their campaign with us and a series of June 2026 fundraisers caught national news attention following our press outreach.
Born at 26 weeks, Ellie started her life in the NICU and now lives with cerebral palsy and other diagnoses that impact her movement and behavior.
As her family shared, Ellie is a typical 3-year-old in many ways. She likes preschool, playing games on her tablet, and bossing around her 3 older siblings.
Ellie and family hoped they wouldn’t need an accessible van so soon. That changed in January 2026 when a car accident in the school drop-off line left them with an urgent need for a safe van.
As mom Stephanie explained:
“Even a 20-minute trip to school is becoming a dangerous gamble on her safety.”
Ellie is reaching for independence as she grows, which leads to frustrating moments when she can’t be as mobile or as physically capable as she wants to be. Adding to that challenge is the lack of vehicle accessibility, which means Ellie can’t enter or exit on her own.
“It can take me half an hour just to get her in and out of a vehicle.”
Ellie’s current ride can’t fit her siblings, mom, and nurse. As mom shared, insurance didn’t just refuse to cover the cost of an accessible van – they even declined to cover the cost of wheelchair straps to secure Ellie’s wheelchair to public transportation. The cost of a “budget friendly” van will top $80,000 out of pocket.
In the first month after the launch of the fundraising campaign in Ellie’s honor, the community had raised $6,000.
That total has climbed to over $45,000 in just 3 months.
Stephanie shared that a June 14 fundraiser alone raised over $11,000. The Elks Lodge event included a silent auction, activities, and a live DJ and attracted visits from 2 legislators – Republican Aura Dunn and Democrat Marisa Sweeney.
Mom says support has come from “friends, family, even people we’ve never met before and national businesses have stepped up.”
As Dunn shared:
“Their willingness to share their journey has helped shine a light on the challenges many families of individuals with disabilities face every day.”
Ellie’s family knew their community would be there for them, but they couldn’t have predicted the level of support. “When we started this journey, we never could have imagined where it would take us,” shared Stephanie:
“What began as hope for a wheelchair-accessible van has grown into a community that has wrapped its arms around our family.”
We extend a special thank-you to Ken Rosato and the ONNJ team for their thoughtful in-depth coverage of Ellie’s need with a special interview—including plenty of enthusiastic commentary from Ellie herself:
