Meet Astrid Hendren
Astrid Hendren is the author of Surviving Lasts a Lifetime: A Parent's Journey through Medical Trauma, a memoir of her near-death experience. Astrid Hendren was born in The Netherlands and came to the United States after graduating from Thij College, speaking very little English. True to her entrepreneurial spirit, she launched “All Things Dutch” at the age of 25, working closely with leading Dutch companies, Ahold and HEMA and later sold the mail order company. She subsequently started an Executive Search Consulting firm, which allowed her to combine work with parenting. Since 2007, Astrid has been a leader in Development and Major Gifts at leading national non-profit such as the American Heart Association, Alzheimer's Association, and March of Dimes. In 2017, she founded a unique 501(C)(3) called Cause Fund, Inc. It provides an all-inclusive social and emotional health program that offers choice regarding charitable giving and empowers every individual to take action while promoting compassion and empathy within a community. Astrid is frequently called on to inspire and motivate large and small audiences on topics including health, wellness and community. In her spare time, she can be found gardening, writing, and creating art in her She -Shed.
Graduation: Astrid and parents
Astrid was born in the Netherlands and grew up in a typical Dutch household with her two brothers. Her father was a professor who taught industrial and mechanical engineering and her mother was a homemaker. The family spent their summers traveling throughout Europe, where she was exposed to many different cultures.
Astrid on her Mistral Malibu on Cape Cod
An avid windsurfer, she opened and managed a store for Europa Windsurf Inc. in Washington DC. and settled in Georgetown in 1986. This sparked her interest in becoming an entrepreneur herself. Working closely with well-known Dutch companies HEMA and AHOLD, she launched “All Things Dutch” for just $1 in the days before the Internet.
Easter 1997, Astrid and her two toddlers, shortly before the rupture of the aneurysm.
In 1997, Astrid suffered a massive stroke when an aneurysm inside a malformation in her brain ruptured.
She found solace in writing the book called,” Surviving Lasts a Lifetime,” a series of life lessons she compiled in two red notebooks to leave a personal history and a legacy for her children to guide them in case she did not survive.
She found solace in writing the book called,” Surviving Lasts a Lifetime,” a series of life lessons she compiled in two red notebooks to leave a personal history and a legacy for her children to guide them in case she did not survive.
Garda, Italy, 2010
In 2007, Hardy Hendren, a renowned pediatric surgeon in Boston, introduced his son David to Astrid in connection with an upcoming business event.
Today, David and Astrid live in the suburbs of Boston, where they like to garden and play with their three dogs and where their five grown children and one grandchild come to sit around the firepit and relax.
Today, David and Astrid live in the suburbs of Boston, where they like to garden and play with their three dogs and where their five grown children and one grandchild come to sit around the firepit and relax.
Since 2007, Astrid has held leadership positions at some of the largest national non-profits and in
2017, she founded a unique 501(C)(3). Cause Day® is an all-inclusive social and emotional health program that offers choice regarding charitable giving, while unifying a community. http:// www.causefund.org
2017, she founded a unique 501(C)(3). Cause Day® is an all-inclusive social and emotional health program that offers choice regarding charitable giving, while unifying a community. http:// www.causefund.org
Surviving Lasts a Lifetime: A Parent's Journey Through Medical Trauma is Available Now
