Because every child counts
Mission and Vision
Just for Kids Foundation raises funds to purchase high-priority medical equipment, and to support initiatives that improve the quality of care for patients of the Montreal Children’s Hospital.
Our vision is simple: To continually enhance the experience and care of patients at the Montreal Children’s Hospital.
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14mfunds raised
To date, JFK has raised over
14 million dollars through
various campaigns and initiatives.
2025 Campaign
This year, our focus remains on essential projects that could greatly benefit from your support.
The Just for Kids Heart & Hands Pediatric Clinic
Just for Kids Foundation is proud to support the Heart & Hands Pediatric Clinic.
This vital initiative provides some of the city’s most vulnerable children with improved access to healthcare. The clinic is located within Verdun Elementary School and also serves Riverview Elementary and the Rising Sun Daycare. This clinic has made a profound impact on countless children.
The team of doctors and allied professionals are equipped to address a wide range of complex medical, mental health and psychosocial conditions. By coordinating services available through the Lester B. Pearson School Board, the Montreal Children’s Hospital and within the community, the goal is to ensure comprehensive care for every child in need.
To date, of the children seen :
- 75% did not have a primary care physician
- 46% received an intervention
- 69% received a new diagnosis
- 96% received a medical or mental health treatment plan
Just for Kids has committed $1.6M to this initiative to sustain and expand crucial services.
Your contribution to the Heart & Hands Pediatric Clinic will help transform the lives of countless children and their families. By investing in this initiative, you become an integral part of Just for Kids Foundation’s mission to provide quality healthcare where it counts most.
Improving Mental Health Resources
Just for Kids is committed to improving mental health resources at the Children’s by providing funding for a Social Worker specializing in mental health in the Emergency Department. The Mental Health Social Worker will play a critical and central role in treating these vulnerable patients and act as a facilitator between the medical team and the child’s family.
Faced with waiting lists of more than 180 days for follow-up, young people and their families are increasingly turning to hospital emergency departments in a cry for help to deal with issues ranging from anxiety to depression to suicidal ideation. According to the Children’s, from 2020 to 2021, there was a 40% increase in mental health related hospitalizations for children ages 12 to 17. This role is crucial at this time.
Purchasing Life saving Medical Equipment for the Children’s
Endoscopy Equipment for The Children’s Operating Rooms
The Just for Kids Foundation is proud to support The Montreal Children’s Hospital by funding advanced endoscopy equipment, designed specifically for pediatric care.
This cutting-edge technology will provide minimally invasive, highly precise, and efficient care for young patients, improving outcomes while reducing discomfort. It plays a vital role in diagnosing gastrointestinal conditions such as Crohn’s disease, reflux, and polyps.
Endoscopic procedures are a safer alternative to traditional surgery for children, offering shorter hospital stays and faster recovery times. Equipped with high-definition imaging, this technology ensures accurate diagnoses, minimizing the need for repeat procedures and enhancing the overall quality of care. Together, we’re transforming pediatric healthcare and making a life-changing impact!
Transforming Pediatric Surgery Care for Young Patients
With your support, this year’s JFK Ski for the Children’s event will help transform care for young patients. The JFK Ski for the Children’s Beardmore Development Fund aims to enhance expertise, training, education, and clinical care, ensuring better outcomes and improved quality of life for young patients. The fund focuses on four pillars:
- Fellowship Program – Provides essential resources to recruit and train top-tier surgical fellows who deliver world-class care.
- Educational Initiatives – Enables the continuation of innovative courses and symposiums, reinforcing the hospital’s leadership in pediatric surgical education.
- Research – Supports cutting-edge projects, encouraging new discoveries and fostering growth among emerging medical professionals.
- Clinical Program Development – Advances essential programs such as the Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Program and the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, ensuring exceptional care for children and families. This fund empowers the surgical team to deliver the best possible outcomes, making a profound impact on the lives of children and their families.
JFK Sibling Park
With your support Just for Kids continues to fund The JFK Sibling Park, a fully-subsidized childcare program providing siblings of patients in acute care a safe and comforting environment while they spend long hours at the hospital. Located on S1 near the PK Subban Atrium at the Children’s, this program helps alleviate the financial stress of additional childcare costs and has been credited with keeping families together during their most difficult moments. New this year, Just for Kids has expanded this program onto patient wards, now siblings on those wards can play together close to their hospital room. Hours of operation have also expanded, in addition to weekends, the JFK Sibling Park will be open everyday after school from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm.
Make helping children a priority
Hospitals rely on foundations such as ours to help close the gap between basic government funding and much needed medical equipment and programs. To date, Just for Kids Foundation has:
- Purchased over $13.5 million of high-priority medical equipment
- Helped over 1,500 healthcare professionals improve patient care
- Touched almost every department at the hospital
- Provided cutting-edge technology to medical staff, drawing top-tier professionals to Montreal and the MCH
- Established the JFK Sibling Park, a free childcare centre for siblings of children in acute care
Please support Just for Kids Foundation and make a difference in the lives of countless children
Just for Kids Foundation was founded in 1987 by concerned parents who saw the need to provide funding for updated medical equipment to best diagnose and treat patients at the Montreal Children’s Hospital.
This dedicated group of volunteers began to create innovative ways to raise funds so the Children’s would remain a state-of-the-art institution.
With imagination, dedication and big hearts, these volunteers created Montreal-based fundraising events. Both large and small, these events have cultivated a very special group of volunteers who continuously challenge themselves to inspire, engage and give back.
Not only has JFK Foundation created a local community among its members, but it also has impacted the community at large by helping children and their families throughout Montreal, as well as touching the lives of so many event participants, guests and corporate sponsors.
Hope for a
Brighter Tomorrow
For sick kids and their families
For Family,
For Kids,
For the community
Because every child counts
Meet The Team
Lorie Blumer
Executive Director
Cory Garfinkle
Event ManagerLeadership
President
Founding President
Harriet Greenstone
Immediate Past President
Past Presidents
Jill Aberman
Lisa Adelstein Steinberg
Sandra D’Alesio Lanno
Maria Fersten Oringer
Myra Frishman
Franceen Goffman
Mara Greenstone Aguinik
Rochelle Lerner Silverman
Lynda Lubin
Jill Morganstein Kimmel
Donna Seidman Salzman
Treasurer
Jennifer Duong
Board Members
Laurence Destrempes
Adam Saskin
Emerson Turnier
Executive Director
Lorie Blumer
Ambassadors
StaceyAnn Clayton
Alessia Giambattista
Arie Pesner
Robin Petrogiannis
Emerson Turnier
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