Boston Children's Hospital Every Child Fund

The Every Child Fund helps bring lifesaving answers to kids at Boston Children’s Hospital. Philanthropic support helps conquer disease through cutting-edge research happening only here at our hospital; nurture hospitalized children through healing programs like music therapy, art sessions and inspiring dog visits; and support patient families with temporary housing near the hospital, stress-reducing therapies and more. You gift helps kids, like Laila, who come from every state and nearly 100 countries to get lifesaving care.

When Laila got sick, her parents knew they needed to leave their home in Egypt to save her. They lost another child years before because they couldn’t find answers.

Fourteen-month-old Laila had been misdiagnosed nine times by physicians in Egypt and was critically ill. After being treated incorrectly with steroids, her bones were so weak that she broke both of her legs. When a friend in the U.S. told her family about Boston Children’s, they made a desperate 5,500-mile journey to save their child.

At Boston Children’s, a team of specialists and researchers discovered that Laila has an extremely rare, genetic condition—there are only 100 cases reported worldwide. “It’s not one in a million. It’s closer to one in a billion,” says mom, Aya. “But I know Boston Children’s is the best place to be for rare and complex cases. They never give up on Laila and now we have hope.”

Boston has become the family’s second home and they don’t regret the sacrifices they had to make. Laila’s dad, Karim, still works in Egypt to support his family and travels as often as he can to be with them. Aya left a successful career as a teacher and hopes someday to become an interpreter at the hospital to help other families like theirs.

Now 5, Laila is cared for by a dedicated team of Boston Children’s specialists from across the hospital and she participates in two research studies. There are still many unknowns surrounding her health, but for now, she’s thriving. The energetic preschooler enjoys time on the playground with her older sister. Laila loves to run, jump, sing and has started taking ballet lessons.

Watch this video to see how you can change the lives of families like Laila’s.

Your gift empowers us to continue caring for children and families both here in Boston, and around the world. Thank you for your support of Boston Children’s Hospital!

The Every Child Fund (ECF) is Boston Children's Hospital's unrestricted philanthropic fund, which supports the hospital’s greatest needs in the areas of patient care, medical education, research and community health initiatives. Given the increased demands on pediatric health care, the ECF is a critical resource for hospital leadership to direct funds toward highest priorities and critical needs.

When you support the Every Child Fund, you help develop healing therapies, uncover cures for childhood diseases and meet the needs of countless families in distress. As the world changes, our priorities change with it. Crises arise. Opportunities appear. And through it all, our Every Child Fund donors are with us—a vital resource in an unpredictable world.

Patient Care/Family Resources: When a child is very sick, the whole family suffers. Parents make tough sacrifices; siblings may be separated; everyone feels helpless and scared. The families in our care need emotional support, distraction from the long days of hospitalization and healing services that let kids reconnect with their creative, inquisitive selves. Many families struggle with expenses that insurance doesn’t cover, such as food and rent or a place to stay while their child receives treatment. Support to the Every Child Fund provides all of this and more. Child Life Services, patient family housing, extraordinary needs funding— your generosity grows our capacity to meet the needs of more families so they can focus on what’s important, their child.

Research: Boston Children’s operates the world’s largest pediatric research enterprise—an engine that produces and shares knowledge at an unparalleled rate. Our physician-scientists are pursuing new treatments for hundreds of pediatric diseases and collaborating with experts around the globe to bring these solutions to the children who need them most. Your philanthropy equips scientists with state-of-the art technology and gives us the flexibility to act on new research opportunities when they surface.

Community: Children who grow up in poverty face tremendous obstacles—homelessness, inferior schools, violence and loss. They suffer illness and injury at higher rates than kids from more affluent families and are statistically less likely to receive treatment. As a safety net hospital, we serve more low-income children than any other provider in the Boston area. Your unrestricted support extends our comprehensive care and resources to more than 26,000 underserved children and sustains community programs that curtail obesity, asthma and emotional and behavioral disorders in Boston and beyond.

Medical Education: Vital to the future of health care, medical training is a major part of Boston Children’s mission. We train more pediatric residents than any institution in the country, and our trainees go on to lead in communities around the world. Through global observerships, a sophisticated simulation program and our online training platform, OPEN-Pediatrics, we share our medical expertise with clinicians everywhere. Gifts to the Every Child Fund plays an important role in educating the next generation of scientists and caregivers.