Riley Children’s Foundation nears goal of raising $175M for Be the Hope NOW campaign

INDIANAPOLIS (July 1, 2019) – Riley Children’s Foundation’s $175 million campaign, Be the Hope NOW, launched publically last November and has one year left to meet its fundraising goal by June 2020.

As of May 31, 2019, the foundation has raised $144,382,385, or about 82.5 percent of its $175 million goal. Major changes are already in progress because of gifts made to the Be the Hope NOW campaign.

Top funding priorities include maternity and newborn health, research and patient care, and family support programs.

“Inside the laboratories at the Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Riley investigators are using your gifts to accelerate the search for cures using rapidly advancing genetic-based approaches,” said Dave Ricks, chairman of Riley Children’s Endowment board of governors. “Supporters like you are the reason Riley now ranks among the nation’s top 10 pediatric research hospitals.”

Riley Hospital for Children is building a completely new system to revolutionize the care of Indiana’s mothers and babies. As the new Riley Maternity Tower takes shape, donor support has allowed Riley to build a team of experts who provide lifesaving care to high-risk mothers and babies. Donors have already helped to create the Riley Fetal Center and expand Riley’s team of maternal-fetal medicine specialists from two to 10. Donor impact extends across Indiana as high-risk pregnancy specialists travel to rural areas to train obstetricians.

Donor gifts help Riley’s social workers to support families, solve problems and eliminate barriers. The Child Life team provided support through more than 50,000 direct patient encounters in 2018, plus 127 special events and 24,508 visits to the Child Life Zone. About 75 percent of the funding for the Child Life and social work programs are funded by donors.

Every dollar donated to the Be the Hope NOW campaign’s research initiative leads to $10 in additional support for Riley research at the Wells Center, which is located directly across the street from the hospital. Donations not only help children and families in need of care but also help Riley recruit world-class researchers and provide seed and bridge funding to get new ideas off the ground.

For more information and links to donate, visit BeTheHopeNOW.org.

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About Riley Children’s Foundation

Riley Children’s Foundation is the fundraising arm of Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health and the founding organization that opened Riley Hospital in 1924. Today Riley Hospital is recognized as one of the best children’s hospitals in the nation and is the only comprehensive children’s research hospital in the state of Indiana. Be the Hope NOW: The Campaign for Kids aims to raise $175 million by June 2020 to transform Riley Hospital through three high-priority programs: Pediatric Research and Patient Care, Maternity and Newborn Health and Family Support Programs. Riley Children’s Foundation also funds Camp Riley and the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home and Billie Lou Wood Visitor Center. For more information, visit BeTheHopeNOW.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @RileyKids.