Dear Friends,
Welcome to our valued supporters of the Children’s Service Board!
During the last two years of an unprecedented pandemic and the associated hardships, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has remained true to its mission of providing superior pediatric care – serving patients, their families and our community. Admirably, the hospital and its staff have managed to remain agile in the face of ever-changing circumstances and have invested in its commitment to serving the mental health needs of our children.
Unfortunately, and undoubtedly, our children will be impacted by the effects of the global pandemic and we are already seeing this with a 30% increase in demand for our outpatient pediatric psychiatric services since 2020. Additionally, our inpatient services have been running at full capacity since 2020.
The Children’s Service Board (“CSB”), a leading philanthropic affiliated organization of Lurie Children’s for over 50 years, is a group of committed women from diverse backgrounds who share a passion for the hospital’s mission of providing world-class and compassionate care to all children. Our membership, which includes many mothers whose own children have been impacted by Lurie Children’s, have committed to be champions for the mental health crisis impacting our community. We are proud to make a $2 million commitment to the Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Lurie Children’s through our fundraising efforts over the next two years.
You may recognize the CSB as the host of the annual Gold Coast Fashion Show, our annual signature fundraiser and one of Chicago’s favorite philanthropic events. However, the CSB also supports Lurie Children’s through other fundraising campaigns, including the Annual Appeal, as well as through various outreach and support activities throughout the year – making philanthropy fashionable all year long!
Over the next two years, we will have the opportunity to learn from each other by sharing our own mental health stories and learning how the crisis impacts us all. We will be educated by the mental health professionals within the hospital to learn what they are seeing from our community and learn more about their launch of collaborative care training programs. And, we will be able to meet and provide service opportunities to the patients of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health.
For those who have not previously been involved with the CSB, I encourage you to reach out, engage and find ways to be involved with the remarkable group of women that I am fortunate to work with every day. Thank you to our generous sponsors and donors, our dedicated board members, our retail and vendor partners, and all of you who have an interest in supporting this mental health initiative. We are profoundly grateful to all of you for your generosity and enthusiasm for our mission and the mission of Lurie Children’s.
Fondly,