9378 Mason Montgomery Road No. 427
Mason, OH 45040
Child Life Specialist Program
The mission of the Josh Cares Child Life Program is to ensure that no critically or chronically ill child goes through a hospitalization alone. Professionally trained and certified Child Life Specialist staff provide comfort, support and companionship to children being treated at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. These children are special patients who are enduring lengthy hospitalizations without the consistent presence of a parent or guardian. A Josh Cares Child Life Specialist fulfills many roles including parental alternate, family connector, developmental play companion, teacher and healthcare advocate. Support from the Dater Foundation enables Josh Cares to provide over 2,500 hours of direct, one-on-one support to these vulnerable pediatric patients annually.
On July 16, 2020, Josh Cares posted the message below on its web site. Between 2007 and 2020, the Dater Foundation contributed $160,000 tpo the organization.
Josh Cares Announces Closing of the Organization
Posted: July 16, 2020
Dear Josh Cares Supporters,
I am writing, first of all, to thank you for your generosity and years of support of Josh Cares. As you know, Josh Cares is an organization that provides “Child Life Specialists” to nurture, visit and comfort seriously ill young children hospitalized at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. As an organization, and with reliance on our dedicated Child Life Specialists, we support those children whose parents can’t be at their bedside as often as they would like. With a heavy heart, I am also writing to inform you that Josh Cares is closing and dissolving as a nonprofit at the end of July 2020. It was a difficult but necessary decision for the Board to make.
For the past two years, contributions to Josh Cares have continually decreased. Nonetheless, through additional events we were generating enough funds to remain viable. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to cancel fundraising events for the year, and the recent economic devastation of the pandemic has caused donations to grind to a near halt. Fortunately, we have no employees to lay-off. After all expenses are paid, the remaining funds will go to Children’s Hospital to help pay for the salary of the Child Life Specialist Josh Cares is currently supporting for the rest of 2020.
Again, we thank you for your generosity and your support. Your dedicated help and confidence in our Board and our mission has enabled us to cheer up and nurture many sick children — the most vulnerable among us – and help them cope with the difficulties of being hospitalized without their parents. We ask that you consider making any future donations to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center so that they may continue to provide our children with the outstanding medical care that they are known for.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call me (513) 508-6718 or Josh Cares board member Peter McConney at (513) 745-0815.
Sincerely yours,
James Kezele
Josh Cares Board President