In Sitka, Alaska on August 6, 2007, a small plane crashed, taking the lives of Julianne and Emily Hendrickson, two young sisters (14 and 12) and their father, Robert Hendrickson from Sea Girt, New Jersey. The tragedy stunned the community and left the girl’s mother, Ruth Martin, struggling for answers in its aftermath.

Saying goodbye to Julianne and Emily was asking the impossible of all whose lives had intersected with them, and many people wanted to do something positive to keep their memory alive. It all started with a fund created by children from Sea Girt Elementary School who created and sold T-shirts in memory of the sisters… but it turned into something much bigger. Like a butterfly metamorphosing from a caterpillar, the Julianne and Emily Hendrickson Fund for Children was born out of the loss of these two beautiful girls and serves to celebrate their young lives.

The Fund is a non-profit organization awaiting 501(c) 3 status. It’s goal is to provide at-risk teens with the opportunity to be part of outdoor experiential learning adventures such as those offered by Longacre Expeditions, an Adventure Travel company. This groundbreaking adventure is taking place this summer and will allow 30 high school students from Academy Charter High School (ACHS) in Lake Como, NJ to spend one week rock climbing, working on an organic farm, and hiking the Appalachian Trail. The adventure has been designed specifically to take the children outside of their city-inspired comfort zones and serve as the perfect introduction to the outdoors. ACHS was selected because it is a child-centered school serving 100% at-risk children, selected by lottery, from the Asbury Park sending-receiving district.

Our mission is to take programs like these from the state level to the national level and it is our HOPE that with the help of supporters, sponsors, and benefactors, needy children everywhere will have the chance to participate in experiential learning adventures. It is our BELIEF that the self-esteem, leadership and communication skills, as well as hands-on experience can help these kids break free from the cycle of poverty that traps them. It is our DREAM that ALL children will be given the skills they need to achieve their goals, enabling them to spread their wings like butterflies and soar beyond the limitations of their environment.

Now we’re counting on the support of people like you to make this dream a reality. For more information on the Julianne and Emily Hendrickson Fund for Children or to learn how you can help, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or send your letters to PO Box 36, Sea Girt NJ 08750.

Thank you, with all our hearts, from the Board of Directors for the Julianne and Emily Hendrickson Fund for Children:

Ruth Martin and Louise Burke, Co-Presidents
Barbara Parnell, Vice President
Jean Fredericks, Treasurer
Alison Davis and Kate Heath, Co-Secretaries
Maria Richman, OD and Celeste Miller, Esq., Trustees