10 Best Charities for Children’s Health: Change Lives
Want to know which are the top charities for children’s health? Are you wondering which charities are at the forefront of this noble cause? Which organizations are making a tangible impact on the lives of children and their families?
Children’s health is a critical issue that affects not only the well-being of our youngest citizens but also the future of our society. The role of children’s charities in supporting children’s health is paramount, as they often fill gaps left by governmental and private sector services. These remarkable organizations dedicate their resources and expertise to address various aspects of children’s health, aiming to improve access to healthcare, fund groundbreaking research, and provide essential support services to families in need.
These organizations basically work as a lifeline for many families, offering help with fundraising for sick children. These charities also work tirelessly to lend direct financial support for medical treatment and also for raising awareness and money for medical research with a clear objective of ensuring that every child has the opportunity to live a healthy life.
In this article, you will find out all about the top children’s health charities as well their need and their role in children’s health in America. You will also learn ways in which you could support charities that help children.
Top 10 Best Charities for Children’s Health
In this section, you will find out all about the best charities working towards promoting children’s health by either directly giving funds to children in need or in other ways like funding medical research etc.
1. Children’s Health Fund
Founded in 1987, the Children’s Health Fund is committed to providing comprehensive healthcare to the nation’s most medically underserved children. Their programs focus on reducing health barriers to learning, promoting optimal child development, and advancing the standard of care for children in need.
In 2022 itself they provided healthcare to over 500,000 children. Their impact is nationwide thanks to their national partners. They have mobile medical clinics and fixed-site health centers nationwide to reach children in need, providing millions of healthcare encounters since their inception.
They contribute to the health and well-being of all children including immigrant children and children suffering from mental health issues. They also lead a dialogue toward policy change in the field of children’s health.
You can support this organization in many ways including direct donations, corporate donations, partnerships, planned giving, peer-to-peer fundraising etc.
Click here to donate to Children’s Health Fund
2. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude’s mission is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. No child is denied treatment based on race, religion, or a family’s ability to pay.
St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats, and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has a rich history of groundbreaking initiatives aimed at understanding and treating childhood cancer. Notably, they launched the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project in collaboration with Washington University, which is the world’s largest initiative of its kind. This project involves comparing the complete normal and cancer genomes of 800 childhood cancer patients with some of the toughest and least understood pediatric cancers.
Furthermore, St. Jude announced a cure for SCID-X1, also known as bubble boy disease, by combining gene therapy and low-dose chemotherapy with busulfan, effectively restoring immune function in infants with the disorder.
Their groundbreaking research has helped push the survival rate for childhood cancer from less than 20% in 1962 to more than 80% today.
If you are particularly passionate about the cause of childhood cancer, you can support the St, Jude Children’s Research Hospital in many ways including direct donations, monthly donations, workplace giving, fundraising, etc.
Click here to donate to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital
3. Ronald McDonald House Charities
Ronald McDonald House Charities is one of the best kids charities in the health sector. It provides vital resources and compassionate care to children and their families being served by leading hospitals worldwide. They have helped millions of families with sick children find comfort and support when they need it most.
Their primary programs are
- Ronald McDonald House: These are places where families can stay close to their hospitalized child at little or no cost. The Houses provide a home-like setting offering families the ability to sleep, eat, and relax. Most importantly, they can be steps away from their child, allowing them to spend more time together.
- Ronald McDonald Family Room: Located in hospitals, these rooms provide a place for families to rest and regroup right at the hospital, close to their sick child.
- Ronald McDonald Care Mobile: These are mobile health clinics that offer affordable health care for children in their own neighborhoods. The Care Mobiles provide medical, dental, and health education services.
- Grants: Besides these programs, RMHC also provides grants to other non-profit organizations that align with their mission.
You can either donate funds directly, or become a volunteer, start a fundraising drive on their behalf or make an institutional donation.
Click here to donate to Ronald McDonald House Charities
4. March of Dimes
March of Dimes leads the fight for the health of all moms and babies. They use research, advocacy, and education to give every baby the best possible start. They provide support right through pregnancy, pre-natal care, newborn life support and NICU care.
In fact, what makes March of Dimes the best charity for children is that their work has led to significant advancements in maternal and child health, including the remarkable achievement of developing a polio vaccine and making America polio-free.
March of Dimes supports the cause of infant and newborn health by setting up mobile health centers for babies and awareness programs. They have also extensively supported research into minimizing or curing birth defects.
If you are particularly passionate about supporting the cause of newborn babies, then March of Dimes is one of the best health charities for children’s health and in particular for those of newborn babies and mothers.
Click here to donate to March of Dimes
5. Save the Children
Save the Children charity believes every child deserves a future. It is one of the best charities for orphans, vulnerable children and children in need. In the U.S. and around the world, they work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn, and protection from harm. They deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach including in war-struck countries, countries impacted by natural calamities and developing countries in need.
In terms of health, the organization works to ensure that children grow up healthy – with a strong foundation in health and nutrition. They aim to prevent unnecessary deaths of children and their mothers by providing high-quality health services, access to clean water, nutritious food, and lifesaving vaccines.
Save the Children has been instrumental in reducing the number of deaths of children below 5, by setting up life-saving support for children in remote and hard to reach areas, by reducing hunger struggles of children by participating in USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box program.
If you want your donation to help improve the health of children in America as well as other countries across the world, contributing to Save The Children would be a wise choice.
Click here to donate to Save the Children
6. Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation
This foundation emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott.
Today, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is dedicated to realizing Alex’s dream of eradicating childhood cancer. They fund impactful research, raise awareness, and support families dealing with the hardships of childhood cancer.
Their primary impact on children’s health comes through programs like
- Funding Research: The foundation funds a variety of projects, including early career research grants to encourage promising scientists to pursue careers in pediatric oncology research.
- Supporting Families: ALSF offers resources to help families navigate their child’s cancer journey. They provide informational guides and webinars, offer a treatment journal app, and connect families with others who have been through similar experiences.
- Travel For Care Program: ALSF’s Travel For Care Program provides financial assistance to eligible families who are traveling for their child’s cancer treatment. This can include help with flights, lodging, and car rentals.
- Raising Awareness: Through events like Alex’s original lemonade stand, ALSF raises awareness about childhood cancer and the need for research funding. These events also serve as fundraisers, with proceeds going towards the foundation’s research grants and family support programs.
Click here to donate to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation
7. Shriners Hospitals for Children
Shriners Hospitals provide advanced care for children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate, regardless of the families’ ability to pay. They are changing lives every day through innovative pediatric specialty care, world-class research, and outstanding medical education.
Shriners Hospitals for Children is a network of 22 non-profit medical facilities across North America.
They provide advanced care for children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate, regardless of the families’ ability to pay. Shriners Hospitals focus on innovative pediatric specialty care, world-class research, and outstanding medical education.
Their mission is to provide the highest quality care to children in need, educate tomorrow’s healthcare professionals, and conduct research to discover new knowledge that improves the quality of care and quality of life for children and families.
Click here to donate to Shriner’s Hospitals for Children
8. CureSearch for Children’s Cancer
CureSearch is a national non-profit organization that accelerates the search for cures for children’s cancer by driving innovation, overcoming research barriers, and funding breakthrough research. They believe that children diagnosed with cancer should have access to the best treatments and care.
Here’s what CureSearch does for children’s health:
- They focus on accelerating the delivery of promising new treatments from the lab to clinical trials and eventually to the market.
- They support clinical trials of new treatments for children’s cancer. They work to make these trials more accessible to patients and families and to ensure that they are conducted safely and effectively.
- They offers a variety of resources for families affected by childhood cancer. This includes information about different types of cancer, treatments, and side effects, as well as resources to help families cope with a cancer diagnosis.
- They work to raise awareness about the unique challenges of childhood cancer and the need for more research and better treatments.
Through these efforts, CureSearch is making a significant impact on children’s health, particularly for those affected by cancer. Their work is helping to bring us closer to the day when every child diagnosed with cancer can be guaranteed a cure.
Click here to donate to Curesearch for Children’s Cancer
9. Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals
This organization raises funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals that provide a whopping 32 million treatments each year to kids across the U.S. and Canada.
The funds raised by CMN Hospitals help to cover the cost of care for children who otherwise might not be able to afford it. This includes everything from routine doctor check-ups and emergency surgery to trauma care and life-saving cancer treatments.
CMN Hospitals also uses the funds raised to purchase pediatric medical equipment and to fund the construction of new facilities and the expansion of existing ones. This ensures that member hospitals have the resources they need to provide the best possible care.
Additionally, CMN Hospitals works to raise awareness about the critical role of children’s hospitals and the unique health needs of children. They organize a variety of fundraising events and campaigns, engaging communities and corporate partners in supporting children’s health.
Donations stay local to fund critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment, and charitable care that means that you get to select the hospital to which you want your donations to be forwarded to.
Click here to donate to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals
10. Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF)
The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation is the world’s leading nonprofit dedicated to children and teens with brain tumors. Their mission is to care for families along their entire journey, cure all childhood brain tumors, and help survivors and families thrive.
This charity for kids provides funding for research into pediatric brain tumors, aiming to improve understanding, treatment, and ultimately find a cure. They fund a variety of research projects, including basic scientific research, clinical trials, and survivorship studies.
The charity is also engaged in providing support to families with children that have brain tumor. This includes educational resources, financial assistance, and emotional support. Their peer-to-peer mentorship program helps connect families with children diagoned survivors or those who have experienced a loss in the family on account of a brain tumor with a trained mentor.
If you feel deeply about the cause of Pediatric Brain Tumor and would want to extend your support to it, the PBTF is one of the Top 10 children’s charity in the health niche.
Click here to donate to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation
How to Support Child Health Charities
The life of a child is the most valuable treasure we have, deserving of our utmost care and protection and any contribution you make to support the health of children would go a long way in making the world a better place to live in. Some actionable ways in which you could help support children health charities are
by donating money – instead of making a one-time donation, see if you can take up a monthly commitment to child charities for ongoing welfare.
by fundraising: Organizing a fundraising event in your community through a simple charity run, a bake sale, a well-planned charity raffle or even a virtual event could be effective especially if you want to help out a local child or a local hospital or children’s health non-profit organization.
by volunteering your time – fundraising is a time-conuming task and requires a lot of manpower. Insufficient volunteers is one of the biggest challenges of fundraising. So even if you can’t contribute through money donations, contribute through active participation.
By leaving a Legacy – Including charity towards the health of young children in your will is one of the most meaningful and impactful way to support children in need.
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