Emajjin Children’s Foundation’s annual fundraising gala was a smashing success and helped raise thousands of dollars in support of VHA’s Playdate program. Emajjin partners with organizations that enhance the lives of children to help them reach their full potential. This year’s Denim and Diamonds theme celebrated the playfulness of the program attendees who were there to support and was the biggest fundraiser by the foundation yet.

“We pitched Playdate to the Emajjin board to be recipients of funds raised at their 2018 gala and were absolutely thrilled to be selected,” says Dr. Kathryn Nichol, Vice President of Quality, Best Practice, Research and Education and Chief Nursing Executive at VHA. “We know we’ll be able to run Playdate at least once, and maybe—because of additional funds raised through the silent/live auctions and other event activities—even twice, in 2019. That’s incredible news, especially since we already have a waiting list of children, families and staff eager to join Playdate,” she adds.

About VHA Playdate:

VHA Playdate is a unique program that gives kids with complex medical needs a rare and much-needed opportunity to come together and socialize, play and just have fun as kids should—all under caring supervision from skilled caregivers who are trained to work with medically fragile children.

The VHA Playdate program was co-developed with client and caregiver partners who are parents of children with complex medical needs. This ensured that the resulting program would meet the unique needs of these families. A pilot of the program ran for two six-week sessions in 2017 to rave reviews. VHA has since been seeking funding to make the program permanent. With the Emajjin Foundation’s donation, we are excited to be able to run more Playdates and expand to different locations.

Visit the Emajjin Children’s Foundation’s website or find out more about VHA Playdate.