Things we know now, we wish we knew then..... 

Abused as a kid, I found solace playing some Risky Business and being stranded on a Blue Lagoon.

Fantasy became my crutch and people like Tom Cruise and Brooke Shields were my escape.  

I poured my heart out in letters to Brooke Shields.  She to me was/is the most beautiful creature on this earth, and to a broken hearted 13 year-old she was an enigma.   And generously started to respond and returned my posts.  I would recieve notes accompanying signed pictures of her that I had enclosed in my posts.  They were not only signed but contained messages of hope that gave me inspiration.  We had even the fortune of accompanying phone calls.  Her mother Teri would occasionally call the house to see that I was ok.  

I am alive and well today thanks to the care and concern of two high profile individuals that generously befriended a broken teen-ager.  I turned a bad situation into something that will help every child struggling.  While we are not all lucky enough to come face to face with our heroes and those we most admire, KathyRinaldiHope can however reach them through ChildHope and together we can all encourage kids that need it most.

KathyRinaldiHope was concieved and established because a hero/celebrity can save the life of a child.  All that is needed for someone in crisis is to see that there is hope.  And I personally thank Brooke Shields and her mother Teri Shields for saving mine- they gave me hope.

The KathyRinaldiHope Foundation presents: ChildHope.  An organization  derived out of the need to abolish abuse and to offer kids the hope needed so that they may confidently follow the direction of their dreams and so they may live the life they imagine.