12,000 families in New York City need a crib for their babies to sleep safely. Click here to donate.
The Gift of Health for All New Yorkers
$50 Help Kids Out-Play Obesity
Schools all across the country are finding it's increasingly difficult to offer children comprehensive programs for physical education, recess and free play.
But recently, NYC elementary schools received the Excellence in School Wellness Award from the CDC Strategic Alliance Grant for their efforts to prevent childhood obesity and improve academic achievement through physical activity. Over 5,600 students, in 70 schools, participate in this program which supplies students with items that facilitate movement and play.
With your $50 gift today, we will support this effort by purchasing items such as jump ropes, basketballs, catcher's mitts, helmets, yoga mats, soccer balls... fun things that keep New York City children active instead of sitting in front of the TV.
$75 - Give Children the Gift of Vision, One Pair at a Time
Young children in NYC face many obstacles to eye care including lack of access and health insurance - but at the same time data shows that kids in poor urban areas are particularly vulnerable to vision problems.
Vision impairments can have adverse effects on academic performance and potentially lead to permanent vision loss. Yet most common vision problems can be detected and corrected with eye exams and glasses.
Last year, through the School Vision Program, professional exams were provided to 4,300 medically-underserved children at high risk for serious vision impairments, with 3,500 receiving eyeglasses. Funding is needed to expand our reach to children this school year. You can have an impact on a child's vision and academic opportunity.
$100 - Buy a Crib. Save a Baby's Life.
Today, 60% of unintentional infant/child deaths are due to suffocation, and over half of those deaths are due to an unsafe sleep environment - either sharing a bed with an adult and/or child or sleeping on a couch or soft bedding.
Babies born to low-income families are at an even higher risk for suffocation because their families cannot afford a safe crib.
Due to these alarming statistics, we have become a partner of the national Cribs for Kids program, which provides safe-sleep education and a portable crib for high-risk families. Since 2007, the NYC Cribs for Kids program has distributed over 4,000 cribs and provided over 20,000 families with safe-sleep education. You can help us reach more families in need before it's too late.
$500 - A Healthy Homes for the Holidays
New Yorkers want to provide their families with a safe home. Yet, it is no surprise that many homes in low-income neighborhoods are poorly maintained.
Residents in these areas are often exposed to environmental hazards such as rodents, roaches, pesticides and deteriorated lead paint that can affect their health and the health of their family. The negative impact of these toxins leads to higher rates of asthma and other potentially life-threatening illnesses - especially in children.
Help us give our neighbors a healthy home for the holidays. Our "Healthy Home Kit" includes smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, outlet covers, cabinet locks, a pest control guide, as well as cleaning supplies to reduce hazards that contribute to asthma.
$1,000 - The Gift of Healthy Choices
New York City has made great progress towards creating a healthier place to live and work.
This is due in large part to public education programs that we developed to help residents make better smarter choices. Subway riders may be familiar with two of these media campaigns - both include compelling posters placed in train cars that help raise awareness about the risks of tobacco use and sugary-drink consumption.
While these efforts have yielded positive results, smoking is still the leading cause of preventable illness and death in NYC while 23% of adults and 21% of children in our city are overweight or obese. Be a partner in a campaign about the risks of sugary-drink consumption or tobacco use.