An Interview With John 'Gungie' Rivera, Founder, Cristian Rivera Foundation

Based in New York, Rivera says the foundation has no staff and all its income is contributed. Every penny of the “few thousand dollars” the charity raises each year goes to help fund the research of one of his son's physicians: Dr. Mark Souweidane of Weill Cornell Medical Center.

FundRaising Success: What is Cristian Rivera Foundation’s mission?
John Rivera: The Cristian Rivera Foundation’s mission is to increase public awareness and understanding of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), as well as raise funds that will support medical facilities and scientific trials whose primary focus is to find a cure for the disease. Pontine Glioma is an inoperable brain tumor located at the stem of the brain. The disease generally affects children between the ages [of 1 and 9], with the average life span of a child after diagnosis falling between three and 18 months. Only 300 cases are discovered in the United States each year, and there is currently no cure, though radiation and chemotherapy are administered to offer short-term treatment.