Me Fine Foundation

One of the first questions we are typically asked is, “Why are you called ‘Me Fine’?” Our unique choice of name is our way of honoring the memory of a brave little boy named Folden Lee IV, who was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in May of 2003. Although one would expect a two-year-old child receiving chemotherapy treatment to act fussy, upset, or at the very least, weary, whenever Folden was asked how he was doing, his response was always “Me Fine!” In spite of gallant efforts, Folden passed in September of 2004. He was two years old. During their 15-month-long battle with leukemia, Folden’s family experienced firsthand both the tremendous stress of caring for a child with a life-threatening illness and the overwhelming burden of the exorbitant medical costs associated with his treatment. In 2004, Folden’s friends and family members founded the Me Fine Foundation as a way to pool resources for families facing life-threatening childhood illnesses. In 2013, Me Fine acquired another local non-profit called Striving for More, which was founded in memory of Colleen Moore, who died of cancer at age nine. This merger increased the scope of our services to include psychological and emotional support to childhood cancer patients at Duke and UNC Children’s Hospitals. In 2018, Me Fine launched its first-ever expansion, beginning service at WakeMed Children’s Hospital and focusing on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Through Me Fine’s work, Folden’s ability to find the good in even the most challenging situation lives on and has benefited thousands of other children. No one can change what these children are forced to endure medically, but through our combined effort, we can ease the burdens of their caregivers and make their countless days in the hospital a little easier to endure.

We help families with the very real emotional and financial challenges that arise when their child is facing a serious health issue.