Ariana Ehrenthal
Meet Ari.
A life full of love, music, cheer, and caring for others.
A life still being lived
She was seventeen.
She was not done.
How do you capture a life that was still in the middle of being lived? You hold up the pieces and hope they catch the light.
Ari was seventeen, with a calendar full of concerts, a love of cheer, and a heart that made people feel cared for.
Ariana Ehrenthal loved her family, her friends, her fur babies, cheer, books, and the next concert on the calendar. She could be happiest alone in her room with music playing—and then come out and be completely present with the people she loved. She told the truth, found good in others, and made people feel seen.
A few of Ari’s favorite things
Taylor Swift, mirror balls, teddy bears, stars, Tom Brady, and butterflies.
She kept showing up.
From childhood, Ari lived with serious health challenges that affected her breathing, sleep, and energy. Things that looked ordinary from the outside—getting to school, finishing the day, showing up for cheer—could ask far more of her than anyone knew. She kept finding ways to do what she loved, while carrying an understanding of illness that would later shape her dream of becoming a nurse and her wish to help other families.
Living with illness made ordinary days anything but ordinary. Still, Ari got herself up for school. She stayed with her cheer team, spent time with her friends, and kept moving toward the future she wanted. The people who loved her saw what that took, even when others couldn’t.
Through every chapter of her life with illness, her parents, Melissa and Alex, were by her side.
Caring was already part of who she was
A heart for
helping others.
Ari dreamed of becoming a nurse. She admired her older sister Rebeka, volunteered at Bethesda West hospital, and had been accepted to Sacred Heart University. Caring for people wasn’t simply something she planned to do someday. It was already part of who she was.
During her hospital stay, that desire to care for people grew into an idea: help families with the everyday costs of staying beside their children.
Being there is everything.
Loved, in every chapter
A life full
of her people.
She had a life full of people who loved her back: her parents, Melissa and Alex; her siblings, Rebeka, Zachary, and Maggie; her niece, Taytum; and the family and friends around her. Each knew a different part of Ari. All of them knew how deeply she cared.
Ari was so much more than the illness she lived with or the foundation she inspired. She was a daughter, a sister, a friend, a cheerleader, a music lover, and a future nurse. She was seventeen years old, with more life she intended to live.
Little pieces of Ari
Her voice. Her laughter.
Her kind of joy.
Her heart. Her idea. Her mission. Her legacy.
Her love continues
through what we do.
During her extended hospital stay, Ari noticed what other families were carrying. Alongside the fear of having a child in the hospital came meals to buy, parking to pay for, transportation to arrange, and the need for somewhere to sleep nearby.
Ari wanted to help those families when she left the hospital. Sweet Journey 17 was her idea. Today, we carry it forward through Sweet Meals, Sweet Stays, Sweet Rides, and Sweet Essentials—practical support that helps families remain beside their children.
We carry her idea forward with love.
See how Ari’s idea helps familiesStay with your child.
We’ve got this part.
Your gift can help with meals, lodging, transportation, parking, and everyday essentials.
Donate with love