Our Mission
Aaron’s Coffee Corner began as a family mission in September of 2018, to provide 24/7 access to free, fresh, quality coffee to family, friends, and caregivers of patients admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital. Since beginning this effort, the nonprofit has established two more corners in the hospital and raised nearly $97,000. Aaron’s Coffee Corner is registered as an Illinois not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation.
About The Family
The Kobb family has spent a lot of time on the 16th floor. The family’s youngest son, Aaron, was born with a rare genetic metabolic disorder called Dihydropyrimidine Dehydrogenase Deficiency, and has been diagnosed, cared for, and monitored by the doctors and staff of Lurie’s Children’s Hospital since he was 18 weeks old. His prognosis was that he would not live past three years of age but, his family has gratefully celebrated Aaron’s 19th birthday.
Aaron is a medically fragile young man that is globally delayed. He does not communicate, is confined to a wheelchair, requires 24 hour care, is fed through a tube, suffers from epilepsy, and has a depressed respiratory and immune system. Despite this, he is a light that shines bright among his family, friends, and his community. He has taught people young and old to appreciate what they have, how to be better people, to appreciate their time on this earth, and to be kind.
About Lurie Children’s
In the 2023-2024 U.S.News & World Report rankings of the best children’s hospitals, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago continues to be the top pediatric hospital in Illinois. Lurie Children’s provides superior pediatric care in a state-of-the-art hospital that offers the latest benefits and innovations in medical technology, family-friendly design and research through the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute. The main hospital is located in downtown Chicago on the campus of its academic partner, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Lurie Children’s has a network of more than 20 outpatient and primary care locations and10 partner hospitals, providing top pediatric care across the greater Chicago area. As a nonprofit hospital, Lurie Children’s relies on philanthropic support to care for more than 260,000 children each year.