Little Giraffe Foundation Names 2023 NICU Support Grant Recipients

The nonprofit donates a total of $14,959 in grant money to 15 medical institutions and non-profit organizations to support NICU patients and their families

CHICAGO, Nov. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Little Giraffe Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to funding neonatal research and supporting families and premature babies in the NICU, announced the 15 recipients of the foundation's 2023 NICU Support Grants. Since 2011, the Little Giraffe Foundation has delivered hospital bags to more than 26,000 families, provided $139,000 toward 148 separate NICU support grants, and provided more than $300,000 in medical grants to 34 different research initiatives. From direct family contact through the gift bags to the upleveling of research and care the support and medical grants provide—every dollar that goes to the Little Giraffe Foundation goes to ensuring the immediate and future care of NICU patients.

"We are so grateful to all those who have stood by our foundation from its very beginning, as well as those who joined us in support for the first time this year, and everyone in between. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, we've been able to allocate 15 grants towards vital NICU programs," said Amanda Santoro, the co-founder and president of the Little Giraffe Foundation. "As we approach the upcoming 2023 holiday season, we are delivering to more hospitals than ever before. Countless families have emphasized the significance of these materials during challenging times, and we remain committed to extending our support to as many families as we can."

This year's Little Giraffe Foundation's NICU Support Grant recipients are as follows:

• UPMC Carlisle, Carlisle, Pennsylvania — to receive $1,000 for food for mothers of breast-feeding infants, food for the immediate families of NICU infants, gas vouchers for rural families, and direct transportation vouchers for those who live in Carlisle.
• Norton Children's Hospital Foundation, Louisville, Kentucky — to receive $1,000 for gas gift cards for parents traveling to visit their baby in the NICU at Norton Children's Hospital.
• Madelyn's Fund, Charlotte, North Carolina — to receive $1,000 to provide meal assistance to local families with children in the NICU.
• Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, Pomona, California — to receive $1,000 to expand their current "Book Nook" Library Program and add an "Electronic Book Nook" e-Reader Library Program for the NICU.
• Kentucky Children's Hospital, Lexington, Kentucky — to receive $1,000 to purchase gas gift cards to distribute to NICU parents.
• The Tiny Miracles Foundation, Darien, Connecticut — to receive $1,000 to host special holiday meals for parents with babies in the NICU.
• St. Luke's University Health Network, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania — to receive $1,000 to assist families in purchasing basic necessities for their baby, self care items for postpartum mothers, gasoline and quick nutritious food.
• Jefferson Abington Hospital, Abington, Pennsylvania — to receive $1,000 to help NICU families with basic necessities like car seats, cribs, breast pumps, diapers and clothing.
• UPMC Children's Hospital Foundation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — to receive $1,000 to provide monthly, age-appropriate activity kits to send home to siblings of NICU patients.
• Edward Foundation, Naperville, Illinois — to receive $1,000 to provide NICU patients and families with a strand of beads to provide support and help tell their story of courage during their NICU stay.
• Franciscan Health Foundation, Indianapolis, Indiana — to receive $1,000 for gas cards for NICU families.
• Franciscan Health Foundation, Crown Point, Indiana — to receive $1,000 to purchase an AngelEye camera to allow parents to see their baby in the NICU.
• Franciscan Health Foundation, Lafayette, Indiana — to receive $959 to purchase infant care kits that will provide the critical basic supplies to care for an infant.
• Altru Health Foundation, Grand Forks, North Dakota — to receive $1,000 to purchase a new glider that will make a difference for families with babies in the NICU.
• Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois — to receive $1,000 to fund recording devices for NICU families.

"Supporting these crucial programs allows parents and families with NICU-bound children to focus on the most important thing—the well-being of their infants. Whether it's getting them food, gas cards, or essential items for their little ones' development, these grants are here to make life easier for families all year long," said Mike Santoro, co-founder of the Little Giraffe Foundation. "We are extremely grateful to our financial contributors and dedicated volunteers who make this funding happen. Helping thousands of NICU families has only been possible because of their unwavering support."

To learn more about the Little Giraffe Foundation and its efforts to aid in NICU patient and family assistance, as well as neonatal medical research, please visit: http://www.littlegiraffefoundation.org/ and follow the organization's news on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/LittleGiraffeFoundation.

About the Little Giraffe Foundation:
The Little Giraffe Foundation is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Chicago, dedicated to supporting parents and patients of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Since 2011, the foundation has delivered gift bags to more than 26,000 families during their stay in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), awarded over 140 support grants to dozens of hospitals across the country, and funded over $300,000 in medical research.

Media Contact

Daniel Gerardi, Walker Sands for Little Giraffe Foundation, (312) 267-0066, [email protected], https://www.littlegiraffefoundation.org/

SOURCE Little Giraffe Foundation