America's Charities | Coalition of the American charitable organizations that provides workplace charitable giving campaigns.

Featured Charity: The Children's Inn at NIH

Submitted by sford@charities.org on Mon, 01/30/2012 - 10:27am

By supporting this charity, you help provide a cost-free "Place Like Home" for pediatric patients receiving treatment for catastrophic diseases, while they participate in leading-edge research studies at the NIH.

What does your organization do and how are you different from other groups with similar missions?

The Children’s Inn at NIH is “A Place Like Home” for children participating in leading-edge research studies at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Inn’s mission is to provide a home to keep families together during their children’s treatments, reduce stress, and facilitate healing through the mutual support of other families facing similar situations. Children staying at The Inn are receiving treatment for catastrophic diseases such as heart, lung, blood, bone, and growth disorders, mental illness, rare genetic conditions, and many forms of cancer.

While there are many hospitality houses that serve various hospitals around the country and the world, The Children’s Inn only serves pediatric patients who are involved in research protocols at the NIH. In addition, many hospitality houses charge a nominal fee to families, while at The Inn, there is absolutely no cost to families, regardless of the length of their stay.

Where is your organization located?

The Children’s Inn at NIH is located on the campus of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD. The NIH Clinical Center serves as the nation’s premier biomedical research hospital, providing an opportunity for our residents to be partners in advancing medical discoveries and improving the health of people all over the world. Children staying at The Inn come from all 50 states and more than 80 countries.

How has your organization responded to the economic crisis?

Among the most significant challenges for The Inn in the past several years has been providing for families during a difficult economic time. In 2009, as donations fell significantly, The Inn provided for an increased use of emergency food supplies, grocery store gift cards and other supplies and services required to meet basic family needs. For example, prior to the economic crisis, an average of 18 families per week required financial assistance to purchase groceries, costing about $1,800 per month. Today the program averages more than $3,100 per month.

Is there a time during the year when you need more help than usual?

If families have the luxury of being able to schedule their child’s treatments at NIH when it is most convenient for them, they tend to arrange their visits for the summer months when kids are out of school. Because of this, The Inn sees a significant increase in the number of families staying at The Inn during the months of June, July, and August. At the same time, because many of our supporters give to The Inn around the holiday season in fall and winter, our busiest months are also often the time of year when our need is greatest.

How Can I help?

Monetary Donations are the best way to support The Inn’s kids and families. Your contribution makes it possible for The Inn to allow all families to stay at The Inn completely free of charge, no matter how long the visit.
Top 5 Most-needed Items: Contribute items listed on The Inn’s Wish List by visiting http://www.childrensinn.org/site/c.kkI1KiMXIvF/b.2216863/k.F699/Wish_List.htm (click here).

If I make a donation today, how much of an impact will that donation have?

Up to 59 families may reside at The Inn for each night, at no cost, no matter how long they stay. In addition, all of our more than 800 annual support programs are offered completely free of charge. As a private, nonprofit organization, The Inn relies on donations and volunteers.

$1000:

· Pays for a family to stay one week at The Inn.

· Allows 25 families to go on two field trips to local museums, malls or movies.

$500:

· Buys a year’s worth of “Thoughtful Treasures,” small gifts that volunteers place in each child’s “mailbox” every day. Fill one mailbox for the entire year!

· Purchases a new guitar and other musical instruments for the therapeutic music program.

· Pays for an Adventure Inn Field Trip.

$250:

· Pays for winter clothing for a family from the Caribbean who arrives at The Inn without warm clothes.

· Purchases new X-Box games for use in the Game Room and Teen Lounge.

· Pays for gift cards that families can use to purchase clothes, food or entertainment.

$141:

· Pays for one night at The Inn.

· Provides one month’s worth of toiletries and supplies for a family staying at The Inn.

· Pays for “Sunday Supper” for 50 residents—one of The Inn’s most popular offerings.

· Purchases 7-10 new books for the Learning Center.

$50:

· Provides a grocery card to feed a family for a week at The Inn.

$25:

· Purchases five Calling Cards for families to use to stay in touch with family and friends back in their home states or countries.

· Pays for 120 bulbs and flowers to plant in The Inn’s Therapeutic Garden.

What one thing do you wish more people knew about your organization’s work?

The Children’s Inn at NIH provides a home for children that receive treatment through research protocols at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH Clinical Center serves as the nation’s premier biomedical research hospital, providing an opportunity for our residents to be partners in advancing medical discoveries and improving the health of people all over the world.

What can a company (of any size) do to help your organization?

There are many different ways for companies to support The Inn:

Local businesses can organize groups of employees to volunteer by preparing and serving a meal for residents.
Retailers may choose to donate a portion of sales or proceeds from a certain product, sale, or event to The Inn.
The Inn also hosts many events throughout the year, which companies may choose to sponsor.

To learn more about these and other ways for companies to get involved, visit our website at www.childrensinn.org or call The Inn at 301-496-5672.

What makes your organization successful and what advice would you share with other charities out there?

First and foremost, be accountable – to your supporters and to your constituents. The Inn makes financial information and programmatic updates available on our website and through our annual report. We also place a high level of importance on asking for and incorporating feedback from our residents into everything we do. We hold regular focus groups with residents to gain insight into their experiences with us and to solicit ideas for how we can improve the services we offer. Each resident is also given the opportunity to return a feedback form at the end of their stay, every time they come.

Open communication is key – use all forms of communication available to you, including direct mail, e-mail, your website, social media, etc.

What are some of your upcoming events?

February 25, 2012: “A WINNter Affair” - the first fundraising event hosted by the Young Ambassadors Council. The Young Ambassadors Council (YAC) was founded to increase opportunities for individuals in their 20s, 30s, and 40s to get involved with The Children's Inn at NIH. The YAC offers a variety of ways to support The Inn's mission, including volunteer projects, community outreach initiatives, social events, and much more! A WINNTer Affair will be a fun night of cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and dancing with live music by The Winn Brothers Band! Guests will party the night away with fellow Young Ambassadors and friends of The Inn to celebrate the first year of the Young Ambassadors Council and to raise needed funds to support The Inn's mission and programs. Your support of the YAC means a lot to us. We hope to see you there! For more information, contact Lauren Conte at contele@mail.nih.gov.
June 4, 2012: The Inn will also host our 5th Annual Children’s INNvitational Golf Tournament.