Better Together
At Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, our goal is to improve the health of children wherever they are. Grounded in data and powered by partnerships, we know that children thrive when their communities thrive.
Our work is guided by a simple but powerful framework: Heal. Strengthen. Prosper. Together, we can meet today's needs, strengthen resilience for the future and invest in opportunities for lasting well-being.
Healthy Kids Running Series Brings Movement and Joy to Local Families
On weekend mornings, West Philadelphia and Norristown come alive with music, cheering and the thump of sneakers.
What looks like a neighborhood festival is the Healthy Kids Running Series (HKRS), a national nonprofit that creates inclusive, entry-level running experiences for kids across the U.S. CHOP leads and operates the HKRS programs in these two area communities so children ages 2–18 can discover the joy of running while building confidence and healthy habits. Learn More
Making Movement Fun, Affordable and Within Reach
Established through CHOP Cares Grant funding, the HKRS sites in West Philadelphia and Norristown aim to remove cost barriers and keep participation within reach for families.
Guided by Community Health Needs Assessment learnings, CHOP makes participation accessible by reducing the national fee of $45–$50 to just $5. Each child receives a shirt, race bibs, a swag bag, snacks and a finisher medal, ensuring runners feel welcomed and supported, and that families with multiple children can easily participate.
Volunteers Bring Energy, Structure and Heart
Both CHOP sites are entirely volunteer-run, with about 10 CHOP employee volunteers per location each race day. Volunteers arrive early to measure distances, set up courses, time races, guide families, and, most importantly, cheer every child along the course and across the finish line.
Older participants earn weekly points toward a season trophy, boosting motivation. A local youth DJ — who first got involved with the program as a high school student — keeps spirits high, while longtime volunteers lead warm-ups and confidence-building chants that help every child feel ready to give it their all.
Cooking Up Healthier Futures
In a bright teaching kitchen on Market Street, laughter and the scent of sizzling vegetables fill the air. Here, children and parents aren’t just learning recipes, they’re discovering how small changes can make a big difference in their health.
At Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Health and Well-Being Clinic, care extends beyond checkups. At the clinic, families build lasting habits in eating, movement and well-being. Its Nutrition Is Culinary Healthy Eating (NICHE) program brings those lessons to life through hands-on cooking. Learn More
From Clinic to Kitchen
Each week, families gather in the clinic’s teaching kitchen for NICHE sessions, where they learn, cook and share healthy meals together. During the first half of each session, children build confidence in the teaching gym while parents explore nutrition and meal prep with a culinary educator. The children then join their parents to slice, mix and taste what they make — turning clinic lessons into everyday practice.
The first classes, held in October 2024, quickly filled and inspired strong word-of-mouth interest.
Food as Medicine, Learning as Connection
Many NICHE families also receive monthly food bags and deliveries through CHOP’s Food Pharmacy, which screens every clinic family for food insecurity. NICHE helps them make the most of those groceries, showing how to turn fresh fruits, vegetables and pantry staples into nutritious, affordable meals.
This approach links care and education, helping families apply what they learn in clinic to their own kitchens while strengthening access to food at home.
Growing Stronger with Support
In its first year, 45 families participated in NICHE programming, with many returning for multiple sessions and reporting healthier eating habits, like trying new vegetables and choosing more nutritious foods at home.
Initially funded by CHOP’s Office of Community Impact, the program has also relied on support from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–Education (SNAP-Ed), which will end on September 30, 2026. Continued philanthropic support can help sustain and grow this hands-on approach to family wellness.
To donate funds to NICHE, contact the Office of Community Impact.
Learn more about the Health and Well-being Clinic.
A Simple, Smart Solution
Period poverty can prevent people from attending school, work or job interviews. It can also lead to psychological stress, including shame and depression, and health issues like urinary or reproductive infections — especially for those in shelters.
The Period Project, created by CHOP trainees, social workers, volunteers and HHI leaders with support from a CHOP Cares Community Grant, provides “period packs” with supplies for a full cycle, promoting health, dignity and opportunity.
Helping Thousands Every Year
The initiative has provided supplies for more than 10,000 periods. In a recent survey, 96% of participants said the packs help them attend school, work or job interviews.
“Most shelter residents arrive literally with just the clothes on their back and no means of income. Therefore, when their menstrual [cycle] comes on, they are in need of products. Having products on hand eliminates any shame or stigmas one may feel.”— Residential services manager at HHI partner shelter
Helpers Make It Happen
The Period Project relies on monetary donations, period product drives and in-kind donations to stay stocked and sustainable. Teams across CHOP and external partners support the effort by collecting donations and assembling kits at monthly volunteer events.
The project has also received support from the CHOP Foundation’s Helping Hands Community Care Challenge, with corporate volunteers joining in. These changemakers show how small actions can fight big inequities.
Promoting Wellness Equity to Help Kids BE-WEHL
Mental health is vital to overall well-being, and mind-body practices are effective tools for enhancing it. Recognizing this, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) launched the Integrative Health (IH) Program 10 years ago to incorporate wellness practices such as yoga, massage, aromatherapy and acupuncture into patient care.
Now, IH is bringing the benefits of these practices into the community through their Behavioral Health — Wellness Equity for a Healthy Life (BE-WEHL) program. Learn More
Launched in 2020
The BE-WEHL program offers a comprehensive seven-session curriculum designed to help children and families in under-resourced communities manage stress and cope with life's challenges. The curriculum covers mindfulness, nutrition, sleep, physical activity, yoga, self-massage, breathwork, nature and progressive muscle relaxation.
It was developed by experts from Integrative Health to address the unique needs of communities with higher levels of trauma and limited access to behavioral health professionals for children and adolescents.
By the Numbers
BE-WEHL is unique in that we're not talking about a disease-specific thing. The focus is on stress, wellness and mindfulness. That allows us to be flexible and adapt the program, while always focusing on children.
Complementary therapies, like yoga, massage, aromatherapy and acupuncture, are traditionally accessed by affluent populations, so as a team we really wanted to find a way to systematically make these practices more available to populations living in underserved areas.
Growth Since Launch
BE-WEHL has continuously evolved to maximize its impact and sustainability. Initially focused on offering one-on-one virtual classes for CHOP patients with behavioral health challenges and their families, the program expanded in 2022 with support from CHOP's Office of Community Impact. This funding enabled BE-WEHL to bring its curriculum into elementary schools, reaching children ages 5-14.
More recently, the program introduced professional training workshops empowering educators at early childhood centers to adopt wellness practices to manage their own stress and teach these strategies to children.
Medicine and More: The Family Connects Program
Sometimes, a family visiting the Emergency Department at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has social needs that go beyond their child's immediate medical problem. Families may struggle to have enough food or a safe place to live. CHOP created Family Connects to provide community resources to meet those social needs. Learn More
Our Financial Commitment
Our pledge to improve the health of children and the broader community takes on many forms: thousands of employee volunteer hours, free use of our facilities for community organizations, free health education and training for families and professionals, donated goods and services, and, of course, financial. Through all these efforts, in fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024), CHOP contributed more than $714 million to this effort.
All financial data is for fiscal year July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. These reports include amounts expended by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s hospital facilities, as reported on Schedule H of the IRS Form 990, and our controlled affiliates, including our physician practice plans, which are not required to complete Schedule H. Accordingly, the values on this fact sheet are greater than the amounts reported in the CHOP Schedule H, which applies only to our hospital facilities. For more information, call CHOP’s Office of Community Impact at 267-426-5506.
Financial Assistance Policy Summary: The mission of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is to advance healthcare for children. To help children get the care that they need, CHOP provides financial assistance for medically necessary and emergency care to patients who meet the eligibility requirements. If CHOP determines that a patient is eligible, CHOP will waive 100% of the patient’s financial responsibility (after all applicable insurances and other government assistance). Learn more about our financial assistance policy. View previous Community Impact Reports and Financial Commitments.
Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Commitment
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Financial Assistance / Charity Care Cost of medical care services for families that qualify for CHOP’s financial assistance policy | 8,958,010 |
| Medicaid Programs Unreimbursed cost of Medicaid and other means-tested government health programs | 385,838,104 |
| Community Health Improvement Services Community-based clinical services, health education and support services focused on public health | 31,117,137 |
| Health Professions Education Net costs incurred by CHOP to train health professionals, including pediatricians | 53,747,012 |
| Subsidized Health Services Hospital-based clinical services provided at a financial loss to the organization | 77,557,514 |
| Research Cost of studies that identify new treatments and cures | 153,704,110 |
| Cash and In Kind Contributions Funds and goods provided to other organizations to provide community benefit | 3,204,738 |
| Total | 714,126,625 |