Donors help transform Children’s health professionals’ ideas into the best care for children and families.
When Children’s experts bring their ideas to Children’s Health Foundation, something magical happens –children’s care is transformed.
When I returned to London and Children’s Hospital, I had a program idea that would change infants’ lives, but I didn’t know who would fund it,” shared Developmental Paediatrician Dr. Jacqueline Ogilvie.
Dr. Ogilvie envisioned Help Me Thrive, where children under the age of two who face prolonged hospitalization receive specialized developmental enrichment to promote infant attachment and caregiver bonding.
“Help Me Thrive is built on existing research and evidence on early brain development and infant mental health. It wasn’t a matter of would the program work, it was a matter of ‘Where would I get the resources to run it?’”
The answer? Donors to Children’s Health Foundation. Donor funding helps staff and partners develop ideas into programs that make up today’s best care.
Other sources of funding, like research or government grants, tend to be risk-averse and require specific data to move forward. The Foundation’s flexible and visionary investments give Children’s experts the ability to launch life-changing initiatives.
Thanks to our generous community, evidence-backed programs can launch quickly, immediately changing the experience of children and families in hospital.
“On the Thrive team, it’s not about a checklist – it’s about seeing what skills a child has and how we can adapt in the hospital environment to get them to the next step,” said Dr. Ogilvie. “One mom shared that their poster helped their team see the child as a baby first. That’s precisely the Thrive team’s goal: to highlight that infants are trying to do the important tasks of being a baby – sleeping, soothing, feeding, growing, playing – while needing medical care.”
Help Me Thrive has assisted more than twice the number of children than anticipated. That’s more parents enjoying the connection and comfort of smiling faces, laughter and a hospital environment tailored specifically to their child – their family.
Thanks to Children’s Health Foundation donors, Help Me Thrive became a staple of Children’s Hospital’s best care, encouraging Children’s Hospital to permanently fund the program. This transition to permanent, sustainable funding means the next generous gift supports the next big idea.
Learn what other innovations your generosity helps fund in this year’s Celebrations! magazine.
