Where The Funds Go

As you walk through a hospital, you don’t usually picture dozens of balloons scattered through the rooms and hallways; yet at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital, they are everywhere. The Children’s Miracle Network balloon icon is proudly plastered on equipment provided by CMN funds, and any member of the Dance Marathon at the University of Florida family can walk along and see the direct impact he or she is making at every turn. An unimaginable number of kids and families enter the doors of UF Health Shands every year. To provide the best care, the children’s hospital relies on donations and community support – this is where DM at UF steps in to fill the funding gaps and support the nonprofit’s mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible.

Every single dollar raised by DM at UF goes directly to UF Health Shands. These contributions manifest themselves in simplicities such as bandages and patient gowns, as well as life-saving machinery and hospital unit expansions. Because of the efforts of students who devote themselves to our cause, the positive impacts are limitless. With every cent donated, our doctors are more empowered to discover cures for diseases like cystic fibrosis, cancer, and diabetes. With every story shared, more individuals become aware of CMN’s mission and the actions taken to give every child a chance at childhood. This past year, we proved that when we #RiseAsOne, $3,230,025.23 miracles can be made. Here is a closer look at where those miracles specifically went:

  • Over $1 million has been devoted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit’s new supply of monitors that features non-invasive ventilation and wireless coverage transport monitors that document a patient’s levels while he or she moves around.
  • Approximately $200,000 went to the operating rooms’ addition of a computer console used to support patients in heart failure. This pump provides better blood flow to the rest of the body and is programmed to each patient’s specific needs.
  • Nearly $400,000 went to the Child Life Program, which aims to create a positive hospital environment and serves as a support system for children and their families. The Child Life Program provides therapy for children dealing with trauma and helps children understand their diagnoses, all through interactive play. 

So, in conclusion, if you are asking, “Where do the funds go?”

They go to the cot a terrified yet hopeful set of parents sleep on, so they can be there to hear their daughter laugh for the first time in the middle of the night.

They go to the laundry machines that save a mother’s sanity, so she can have the smallest comfort of clean clothes while she remains by her child’s side.

They go to the toy car that makes a boy smile despite fighting the battle for his life.

They go to the innovative machinery that saves a girl’s life when she wouldn’t have stood a chance without it.

The money you raise, the money your friends raise, the money every single person with a DM at UF logo on their shirt raises does not just go to research, education, and patient care. It goes far beyond that. It goes to giving every child, parent, and loved one the opportunity to regain some control of their life, the opportunity to achieve some, even if temporary, degree of happiness, and the opportunity to feel what everyone deserves to feel: hope.