About Our Organization

The Ryan Wolfe Kossar Foundation was created in September of 2004 in memory of Ryan Kossar, a six-week-old infant who died instantly and unexpectedly. The Foundation's mission is to prevent unexpected infant and childhood fatalities, such as Ryan's, by funding research, medical training, family support and lobbying efforts.

As you may know, we recently had a monumental breakthrough in SIDS research. Dr. Hannah Kinney a pathologist at Harvard/Children’s Hospital in Boston, along with colleagues from Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia, and the University of California, have now concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that up to 70% of SIDS cases are caused by a serotonin deficiency in the brain stem.  Now that a cause has been identified, the team has joined forces with our sister charity, The CJ Foundation for SIDS to form The CJ SIDS Center Without Walls.  The Center is working to identify screening protocols and possible means of intervention.  With the necessary funding, this group believes that within five years time, they may have the key to eradicating 70% of SIDS cases forever!   Most of the funds raised at this year’s golf event will go toward the CJ SIDS Center Without Walls.  

What is SIDS?

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is one of the leading causes of death among infants one month through one year of age in the United States. Close to 3,000 infant deaths per year are categorized as SIDS deaths in the U.S. SIDS occurs in families of all races and socioeconomic levels. SIDS is a diagnosis of exclusion, affixed only once all known and possible causes of death have been ruled out. While there are no adequate medical explanations for SIDS deaths, most researchers now believe that babies who die of SIDS are born with one or more conditions that make them especially vulnerable to stresses (both internal and external) that occur in the normal life of an infant. Through medical research, further understanding of the causes of SIDS, the diagnoses and the methods of prevention will become more evident.

For more information on the Ryan Wolfe Kossar Foundation, please visit www.ryanwolfekossar.org.