Why enCourage Kids?

enCourage Kids Provides Critical Support When Kids Need It Most

Even the best pediatric hospitals and medical centers have gaps in patient care that cannot be filled by medicine. Hospitalized children are often scared, feel alone, and are dealing with an unfamiliar, overwhelming environment while also battling critical, sometimes life-threatening illnesses and injuries. That’s where enCourage Kids comes in.

3 million

children are hospitalized in the U.S. each year

1 in 4

children face a chronic or severe illness

There are

5.9 million

pediatric hospital stays each year

The average
hospital stay is

4 days long

3 million

children are hospitalized in the U.S. each year

1 in 4

children face a chronic or severe illness

There are

5.9 million

pediatric hospital stays each year

The average
hospital stay is

4 days long

Uplifting Children’s Spirits During Hospital Stays

Working with Certified Child Life Specialists in hospitals across the U.S., enCourage Kids provides much-needed support that hospital budgets or insurance don’t cover. Our life-altering programs bring joy and comfort, hope and healing to young patients and their families, and our funding helps the child life community truly make hospitals a better place to get better.

Who We Help

ENCOURAGE KIDS IS HERE TO HELP:

Help kids

The more than 3 million kids
who stay overnight in a U.S.
hospital every year

Help specialists

The 6,000+ Certified Child Life Specialists who develop necessary coping strategies for pediatric patients and their family members to ease stress and anxiety around hospitalization, and make the experience as positive as possible.

Cares

The 330 hospital partners across the country for whom we have supported over $20 million in programs and funding of renovations, much-needed equipment, supplies, creative arts therapies, and technology.

Creating More Positive
Experiences and Outcomes
for Hospitalized Children

Our programs and activities help create a more upbeat, cheerful setting for pediatric patients. In fact, clinical and evidence-based studies show there are lasting emotional effects when children are surrounded by positive, uplifting messages and activities that support their mental health and healing.

  • Providing reassurance and comfort, engaging activities, and fun opportunities to relax helps children cope better with traumatic situations and complex emotions, including grief.
  • Music therapy reduces stress and increases the mental and physical well-being of hospitalized children.
  • Art therapy helps children express feelings they cannot or will not verbalize, and distracts them from boredom and discomfort.
  • Visiting entertainers add levity and alleviate children’s and family members’ fears and anxiety.
Positive experience child

Funding Where It Counts

Hospital budgets typically apply to areas of patient care such as capital improvements, technology, specialized equipment, and staffing. However, there are emotional aspects to patient care that enCourage Kids supports to fill in the gaps not covered by hospital budgets or insurance.

Everything we do is focused on helping compassionate frontline professionals lift young patients’ spirits, make the hospital a less scary place, and provide a large dose of encouragement and love.

We primarily partner with Certified Child Life Specialists who work hard—often with shoestring budgets or none at all—to ensure the psychosocial needs of hospitalized children are met by providing entertainment, supplies, and programs. We also support hospitals that do not have a child life department but whose staff are aware of how this supplemental pediatric care makes a big difference for their young patients. For these hospitals, enCourage Kids Foundation provides either the resources or funding needed to make a positive impact on the children in their care; through that process, we help these hospitals develop the case for a Certified Child Life Specialist on staff.