The Max Schewitz Foundation

A 501(c)3 Corporation
ID # 20-4855141

The Max Schewitz Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable foundation started by Max’s family and friends after Max died from a sudden cardiac arrhythmia at age 20 in 2005. The Foundation has dual missions:

  • To support the education, prevention, and research of sudden cardiac death in young people.
  • To support environmental conservation, a lifelong interest of Max’s. Specifically, we support the education and conservation of fragile and threatened reptile ecosystems and species.

 

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a sudden, unexpected death caused by loss of heart function (sudden cardiac arrest). Sudden cardiac death is the largest cause of natural death in the United States, resulting in about 325,000 adult deaths in the United States each year.   There is a lack of reliable information about the incidence and cause of sudden cardiac death in young people.   However, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recently established a Sudden Death in the Young Case Registry.   According to the CDC, 2,000 seemingly healthy young people in the United States, under the age of 25, die each year of sudden cardiac arrest.  This underscores the need for the development of early detection to increase survival rates.

The conservation and preservation of fragile and threatened reptile ecosystems and species was Max’s passion as evidenced by his many years of work in the field, educating the general public, assisting in biological research projects, breeding rare species, and investigating reptiles in their native habits worldwide. Now, his work in the field of education and preservation can only continue through the generosity of others.

The Max Schewitz Foundation seeks to grow funds to help prevent the deaths of talented young people like Max to sudden cardiac death, and to continue Max’s work in the conservation and preservation of fragile ecosystems and species. Donors will be able to choose their focus of interest and be assured that funds will be applied to their chosen interest area.

As the Foundation expands so will the scope of its work and the benefit to the greater community. The Foundation has a strong network of family and experts in both fields available for one-on-one conversations about the Max Schewitz Foundation.

Board of Directors:
Chairman: Mary E. Schewitz, MSW
Vice Chairman: David C. Schewitz, MD
Secretary: Kathy Aykroid
Treasurer: Jeanne Coogan
Alane Church
Cassie Mancuso Carver
Paul Gilling
Nick Mancuso

Administrator and contact:
Kathy Aykroid
Max Schewitz Foundation
PO Box 5002
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
847-736-8140
[email protected]