After long deliberations, the Little Giraffe Foundation voted to fund 5 initiatives for 2013, totaling over $15,000. 2 Neonatal Research Grants to forward medical care for premature babies and 3 NICU Support Grants designed to improve the lives of the families and babies in the NICU.

2013 NICU Support Grants

Community Food Bank of Central Alabama - $1,000 Awarded

Community Food Bank of Central Alabama’s (CFBCA) NICU Food Pantry, serving University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

The UAB NICU has 91 individual rooms able to accommodate 106 babies. Babies born premature stay in the NICU on an average of 16 weeks. Often times, parents either go without eating due to the costs associated with each meal or nursing staff offer to pay for the parents’ meals. This partnership between UAB and CFBCA seeks to alleviate the unnecessary pressures for food-insecure families by providing a pantry filled with microwavable, convenient, and nutritionally-appropriate meals for families that qualify for food assistance. 

This discreet pantry will be available to parents on an as needed basis during their hospital stay. Additionally, thanks to our Produce in Pantries initiative, the CFBCA aims to provide fresh fruit and vegetables whenever possible. Additionally, we aim to eventually expand the program so that when families are discharged from the hospital, they will have an opportunity to take a week’s worth of groceries home. This will alleviate the pressures of feeding their family, which gives more time to reinstate food assistance programs once back home, as well as provides more time spent with their little one and each other.

HealthConnect One, Chicago, IL - $1,000 Awarded

Helping NICU Families Bond with their Babies at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital

HealthConnect One has partnered with John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital since our founding, recognizing how many women and children living in poverty are served by this institution.  Premature babies cared for in the NICU rely on the support of their mothers to provide skin to skin contact and breastfeeding to increase chance of survival.  In addition, it has been found that very premature babies who received breast milk soon after birth had higher mental development scores at 30 months and were less likely to be re-hospitalized than premature babies who did not receive breast milk.  These women urgently need expert, culturally-sensitive support to encourage increased rates of breastfeeding. We launched a program targeting this population in March of 2012, and have committed to maintaining and improving the program through calendar 2013 and beyond.

The LGF grant will provide funding for transportation, by way of CTA cards or parking waivors, for the mothers and peer counselors involved with the program. This will provide the mothers the ability to come and visit their infants in the NICU to bond, provide breast milk and do skin to skin. This Peer Counselor Program within Stroger’s NICU strongly aligns with the Little Giraffe’s mission to provide help and support for NICU families.

Advocate Children's Hospital, Park Ridge, IL - $800 Awarded

Helping NICU Families at Lutheran General Hospital Visit Their Babies

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Advocate Children’s Hospital - Park Ridge provides extensive care for premature births or infants born with medical complications.  There are 54 beds within this state-of-the art special care facility.  Our NICU has received a Level IV designation for the highest level of treatment for newborns with the most complex of medical conditions. Many families reside at a considerable distance from the closest hospital that can provide the best care their infant needs. The Little Giraffe Foundation funding will provide gas cards to parents to enable them an opportunity to visit from far distances without the financial stress.

Documenting daily routines or special events would enhance parent’s precious memory collection.  This is especially important for those parents who are not able to be consistently present or for very young siblings who are not yet permitted to visit. The funding from LGF will allow the purchase of a digital camera for exclusive use in the NICU to capture special occasions as well as precious moments when the parents cannot be with their baby.