From quilts to kits to healthcare access, clubs help hospitals care for kids.

By Erin Chandler

This year, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund awarded a record-breaking number of pediatric medicine support grants to seven Kiwanis clubs. With the grant support, these clubs are helping local hospitals and medical centers give kids — and their families — access to the best possible care as patients and the best chance to thrive when they go home.  

Support for the smallest patients
Two of the clubs that received pediatric medicine support grants this year focused their efforts on helping babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). In Jamaica, the Kiwanis Club of Global Alliance aims to make sure as many as 2,000 babies a year get timely, high-quality care in Mandeville Regional Hospital’s NICU by purchasing new pediatric ventilators. Newborn babies, especially those born prematurely or who are medically fragile, require special ventilators for their smaller lungs and more delicate bodies. Previously, there were only one or two of these ventilators available for the entire NICU, and they were no longer functioning optimally. The new ventilators will help doctors care for every baby in a timely manner, improving health outcomes. 

The Kiwanis Club of Tecumseh, Michigan, U.S., helps NICU babies in another way. Along with members of several Kiwanis and Key Clubs in the area, the club has been involved in the Preemie Pals project since 2018. The group made over 3,000 quilts last year for the NICU at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. The family of each baby chooses a quilt to place over their child’s incubator, muffling noise and intense light to create a more soothing environment in which the baby grows, develops and heals. When babies “graduate” from the NICU, their families can take the quilts home. A pediatric medicine support grant will help the club purchase batting, fabric and other quilting supplies. 

New-family needs
The need for care doesn’t end when a patient is discharged from the hospital. In the U.S., the Kiwanis clubs of Kirkland, Washington, and Corbin, Kentucky, will each use pediatric medicine support grants to create kits for new parents leaving the hospital with their newborns. The clubs’ gifts will help hundreds of families in financial need each year. 

The Kiwanis Club of Kirkland worked with nursing staff at Evergreen Hospital to determine that their kits will include supplies like baby thermometers, nasal aspirators and swaddling sleep sacks. The Kiwanis Club of Corbin conducted a community needs assessment before deciding to put together care packages that include diapers, wipes, clothing, hygiene supplies, board books and more items for babies born at Baptist Health Corbin — as well as diaper bags and postpartum care items for caregivers. Both clubs will include a guide to help families access ongoing care through local emergency services or partner organizations.  

Easing the way
Babies aren’t the only patients who benefit from comfort in the hospital — or need follow-up care outside of it. That’s where these clubs step in with help from their pediatric medicine support grants. 

The Kiwanis Club of Greater Central Jersey, New Jersey, U.S., will create around 50 “comfort kits for kids” this year for the Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital. The club will purchase and collect donations of stress balls, books, crayons, coloring books and games for younger patients, and hygiene items like shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant and hairbrushes for teens. Club members, who will assemble and deliver the kits themselves, know from reaching out to the hospital’s Child Life Department — and through personal experience — how items like these can reduce fear, anxiety and stress for young patients and their families alike. 

The Kiwanis Club of Alcoa, Tennessee, U.S., will improve children’s experiences with rehabilitation care at Prisma Health/Blount Memorial Hospital by providing new interactive toys and equipment — including puzzles, tunnels, swings, compression vests, specialized seating, books, augmented and alternative communication devices, climbing devices and more — for kids in occupational, physical and speech therapy. The expanded services will help children with ADHD, autism, communication and language difficulties, or motor planning and coordination difficulties, gain skills to lead independent and fulfilling lives. Club members will even assist as volunteers. 

Finally, the Kiwanis Club of Lake City, Florida, U.S., will work with a number of local healthcare providers, including HCA Florida Lake City Hospital, to remove financial barriers that limit access to essential health services, including school physicals, medications, medical supplies and urgent health needs. Over the course of a year, the program will assist approximately 60 kids and families who are struggling to afford the healthcare they need, all identified through schools and the Christian Service Center. Club members will review and approve assistance requests and manage fund distribution to make sure members of their community receive sustained support that maintains health, school attendance and overall well-being. 

How do I apply for a pediatric medicine support grant?
The Pediatric Medicine Support Grant Program offers onetime grants for clubs to fund projects that specifically support local children’s medical centers. Grant money can be used to purchase products or supplies for patients’ hospital stays or to support a capital improvement project. Learn more about the program and apply. You can find more information about the Kiwanis Children’s Fund on our website.