When people ask me what I value the most about the work of Children’s Health Fund, the obvious answer, and the one I never hesitate to give, is how every day across the country we provide vital healthcare services to children living in under-resourced communities to help them succeed and thrive. But also important to me is the selfless dedication demonstrated day after day by the people who deliver these much needed medical, dental, mental health, and social services to children all over the United States.
Simply put, there would be no Children’s Health Fund without the committed cadre of medical professionals who comprise our National Network and who
staff our mobile clinics. It’s these unsung heroes, people who’ve chosen to care, to whom we owe our deep gratitude.
That was one of the big take-aways for me after listening to presentations by several representatives from our partner programs from around the country who came to Washington, D.C., in early April for a gathering we held to mark CHF’s 35th anniversary.
As I listened to panelists describe their work and the challenges they face—all of which has been made harder by the COVID-19 pandemic—what jumped out at me was the enormous passion each of them brings to their work and, more so, how they’ve chosen to do this work instead of pursuing other opportunities that might be more lucrative. What also struck me is how the work each is doing individually helps bring us closer to health equity for all children regardless of where they live.
So, I just want to use this brief note to say thank you to all the dedicated people in the Children’s Health Fund National Network for their selfless efforts on behalf of the children they serve. We also owe, of course, a deep debt of gratitude to our many supporters who make it possible for us to do our work.
Finally, in the spirit of our 35th anniversary celebration, I invite all of you to take a few moments and watch—if you haven’t already—a video we recently produced that summarizes our nearly four decades of work. As the video’s narrator, CBS Sunday Morning’s Jane Pauley, a long-time CHF advisory board member, reminds us: “We have a big opportunity and, I believe, a responsibility, to provide all children in America what they need to succeed and thrive.”