Kiwanis Children’s Fund grants for pediatric medicine will help two clubs aid hospital renovations.
By Erin Chandler
This year, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund awarded pediatric medicine support grants to two Kiwanis clubs that are helping local hospitals better serve their communities’ children. The support these grants provide allows Kiwanis clubs and medical centers to unite in making sure all kids get the best possible care for their physical, mental and emotional health.
Harrison Kiwanis Pediatric Therapy Sensory Gym
Kiwanis Club of Harrison, Arkansas, U.S.
The Kiwanis Club of Harrison will use its pediatric medicine support grant to create a pediatric therapy sensory gym that will allow thousands of kids across five counties to develop physical and emotional resilience in a safe environment. North Arkansas Regional Medical Center’s current pediatric therapy service area is a former employee gym with only flimsy, makeshift barriers to divide the room and large exterior-facing windows that compromise privacy. It is also too small to accommodate the growing need for its vital therapeutic services. The club will equip a new sensory gym with swings, climbing structures, balance beams, trampolines, tactile stations, sensory play areas and padded flooring. The whole gym will be accessible to kids of all abilities. The equipment is designed to help children who have sensory processing disorders, autism, ADHD and developmental disorders hone their coordination and motor skills, regulate stress, foster independence and communicate with others — and, of course, have fun.
Broomfield Pediatric Mental Health Project
Kiwanis Club of Anthem Ranch, Colorado, U.S.
The Kiwanis Club of Anthem Ranch may be based in a community built for those 55 and older, but club members’ focus is on improving mental healthcare for children and teens. The club consulted with staff at Children’s Hospital Colorado North Campus in Broomfield to determine how they could help efforts already underway to move past a dated model of mental healthcare — one that can increase patients’ fear and stress — to a more humane, individualized and effective one. A pediatric medicine support grant will help to create a positive, therapeutic environment in the renovated mental health unit, with murals, rocking bouncy chairs, weighted blankets, stuffed animals and sensory toys, and “psych safe” handles, windows, ceilings and other fixtures designed to prevent self-harm. In the past 10 years, 80% of Colorado’s mental health facilities have closed, but the redesigned Children’s Hospital will accommodate hundreds more children. And they’ll be helped by volunteers from the Anthem Ranch Kiwanis Club, who are dedicated to serving this worthy cause in any way they can.
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.
You can learn more and apply for a Pediatric Medicine Support Grant on the Kiwanis website. For more information about the Kiwanis Children’s Fund, visit kiwanis.org/childrensfund.