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New Balance Foundation Awards Major Challenge Grant

To Franciscan Hospital for Children

BOSTON, January 24, 2011 - Franciscan Hospital for Children has been named the beneficiary of a $500,000 challenge grant from The New Balance Foundation. The New Balance Foundation will award $500,000 to support the hospital’s Kennedy Day School if the hospital can raise $500,000 from additional donors before December 2011. 

New Balance and the New Balance Foundation have made significant donations to the Hospital in the past; including helping to fund the Hospital’s state-of-the-art therapeutic pool and the Child Wellness Program, but the Kennedy Day School Challenge is the organization’s largest commitment to date.

“We are so pleased with the generosity of the New Balance Foundation,” said Franciscan Hospital President and CEO, Paul DellaRocco.  “Make no mistake, the challenge to raise $500,000 will not be easy, as we typically raise about 2 million dollars annually. But I’m optimistic we can leverage New Balance’s support to secure major gifts from our friends and the local corporate and foundation world. There are a lot of great causes in Boston, but I truly believe helping children learn and grow and become as independent as possible is top of the list. And if we can raise $1,000,000 in the next 12 months, we will make a tremendous impact on the lives of hundreds of children.”

Each year, 15,000 children with a wide range of physical and behavioral difficulties receive care and treatment at Franciscan Hospital for Children. Seventy children with multiple, complex physical and cognitive disabilities attend the onsite Kennedy Day School.  The New Balance Challenge will help the Hospital renovate and expand the school while also purchasing specialized equipment, adaptive technology, and augmentative communication devices for the kids. 

“New Balance greatly appreciates the passionate dedication of the staff and the wonderful heart and character of the Kennedy Day School students,” says Anne Davis, Managing Trustee, New Balance Foundation.  “We believe our lead gift towards the Kennedy Day School renovation will result in a school that can even better serve students and equip teachers, and continue to provide a happy and healthy learning environment.”

New Balance Foundation’s support of the Kennedy Day School will be the latest in a strong history of support to the organization.  To honor that support, the Hospital will be naming a wing of the school in its honor – the New Balance Foundation Wing at the Kennedy Day School. 

While the grant will challenge the hospital to find other supporters of the project, it is an incredible opportunity.  “Whether sponsoring our annual 5K, running toy drives for the holiday season, having employees volunteer at our annual Summer carnival, or bringing athletic shoes over for our kids –our great friends at New Balance and The Foundation have always taken a hands on approach to supporting our kids and really understand what we do here,” said Franciscan Hospital for Children’s Chief Development Officer Steven Snyder.

For more information on how to make a gift to the New Balance Challenge, please contact Diane Newark at 617-254-3800 Ext 3084 or dnewark@fhfc.org. 

About the New Balance Foundation: Established in 1981, the New Balance Foundation has served a deeply held mission: to support charitable organizations whose humanitarian efforts work for the betterment of our children and communities. The heart of our focus is the prevention of childhood obesity.