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follow the leader

Help us find the urgent answers
kids and their families need.

Can you fix my heart?
Are you going to cure my cancer?
Will you help my baby sister come home from the NICU?

Every day at Children’s National Hospital, our patients show determination and heart in the face of challenging illness and injury. These qualities will serve them as future leaders — the astronauts, teachers, artists, nurses, doctors and presidents they dream of becoming.

follow the leader is Children’s National’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign in a decade and our most ambitious. Our campaign co-chairs are Amy and Bret Baier, Izumi and Dave Levy, Carrie and David Marriott, Jennifer and Jimmy Reyes and Cinthia and Horacio Rozanski.

Strategic investments today will improve lives for generations. We are leading the way to help kids live healthy lives and follow their dreams.

Every donation counts toward the campaign’s $500 million goal. Read below about our campaign’s five bold initiatives, and please contact Meredith Chipman at [email protected] to learn more or make a gift.

Zoe's Story

Art is a key part of Zoe’s cancer treatment, bringing both joy and distraction. When the pandemic hit, she was devastated to lose her regular art therapy sessions, says mom Brigitte. Telehealth enabled Zoe to continue from home. “The gift of technology put that pep back in her step,” Brigitte says.

Read more stories

Our Five Bold Initiatives

Pioneering Prenatal Pediatrics

Our Prenatal Pediatrics Institute springs into action when an expectant mother arrives —often anxious and confused and searching for answers. Fifty specialists, led by a world expert, deliver exceptional care. We’ll create initiatives to help even more babies get their best start.

Trailblazing Treatments for Complex Conditions

At Children’s National, we’re here for kids fighting leukemia. Brain cancer. Rare genetic diseases. Congenital heart defects. Traumatic brain injuries. We fight with them, and for them. Together, we can help more children thrive.

Spearheading Integrated Mental Health Care

The pandemic deepened the mental health crisis and exposed inequities and gaps in care. We’ll expand our care to nurture children’s mental, behavioral and emotional well-being. Our future leaders need healthy minds.

Strengthening Community Through Access to Care

For 150 years, we have been committed to improving the health and well-being of our community. Our primary care locations across the city provide longstanding, trusted care. We will add specialty services and expand our community partnerships to reach more families.

Revolutionizing Care Through Pediatric Discoveries

The pace of discovery is fast. We’re accelerating it for kids at our new Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus. It’s a one-of-a-kind launchpad for breakthroughs in pediatric medicine. Help us make new discoveries to improve the lives of children everywhere.

“Leadership is about inspiring a team and getting everyone on the same page to fight hard for the goal that you're after.”
– Marc Levitt, M.D., Division Chief, Colorectal & Pelvic Reconstruction
“As a leader, I have to have a vision, a goal that is shared by all the people around me. It has to be a common vision, but it has to be deeply inside me. Being a leader is being the builder of unity.”
– Yves d’Udekem, M.D., Ph.D., Division Chief, Cardiac Surgery, Co-Director, Children's National Heart Institute