A Bloomfield Hills couple shares why they chose donations to the Jamie Daniels Foundation instead of traditional wedding gifts.
By Stacey Winconek
When Lisa Daniels-Goldman opened a wedding evite from friends Carolyn Krieger, the president of CKC Agency, and Mark Weisberg, a local entrepreneur, she was shocked. What surprised Daniels-Goldman is that the couple had only one gift on their wedding registry: a donation to the Jamie Daniels Foundation.
“I was really overwhelmed with emotion,” Daniels-Goldman says. “Carolyn has always held a special place in her heart for Jamie, and although Mark didn’t get to meet Jamie, he’s just that special a friend that he would agree to it.”
Krieger is longtime friends with Daniels-Goldman and Ken Daniels, co-founders of the Jamie Daniels Foundation. They’ve known each other for more than two decades.
“I met Ken and Lisa at kindergarten roundup when Jamie was going into kindergarten at Doherty Elementary School in West Bloomfield, and so was my younger daughter Alissa, and we became friends in that moment,” Krieger says. “He was very good friends growing up with Alissa, and even with my daughter Alanna,” she says of Jamie.
Over the years, the families have been there for each other for happy moments, like graduations and bar and bat mitzvahs, and heartbreaking ones, like the loss of Jamie.
“We were all devastated, gutted when he died,” Krieger says.
Krieger praises both Daniels and Daniels-Goldman for turning their grief into a mission to help others.
“Attending so many events and seeing what they are doing at the universities, I’m so inspired by it. I knew them when Jamie was 5, and this is nothing that they ever dreamt — any parent would dream — but what they’re doing, I’m in awe of the two of them because the pain obviously will never go away. I’m blown away with what they’re doing through the pain,” Krieger says. “And I know Jamie is guiding them, and I know he knows. It’s not just keeping his memory alive, but it’s helping so many people so no other family has to go through this.”
Throughout the years, Krieger and Weisberg have supported the organization in many ways, and the decision to raise funds for the foundation was a no-brainer.
After nearly five years together, the couple wed in front of hundreds of friends and family at their Bloomfield Hills home on Aug. 31, 2024. QR codes were displayed at every table, giving guests an easy way to scan and donate on the spot. Some guests, Krieger says, were moved to tears by the request for donations. “They just thought it was the most incredible gesture, and it just felt so natural to us. That’s not how we were looking at it,” she says.
To date, the couple has raised over $15,000 for the Jamie Daniels Foundation. The couple encourages others to support the foundation in any way they can, helping to honor Jamie’s memory and make a difference.
“I will say it was so meaningful to both of us,” Krieger says. “We knew we just wanted to give back somehow. A donation to the Jamie Daniels Foundation was something that we both felt deeply about.”
If you would like to support the Jamie Daniels Foundation, please contact Executive Director, Chris Perry at [email protected].
