Umbrella Program

Previously called the Emergency Grant program, this initiative began in 2006 to provide limited support for families with critically ill children who live outside of our 22-county service area but are being treated at a New York area hospital.

• Friends of Karen will assist families with illness-related expenses such as co-pays, travel to and from the hospital, and meals while the child is in-treatment or in-hospital.
• In most instances, for a period of time, one of the parents in the Umbrella Program will have to live away from the rest of the family in order to be near the hospitalized child. To ease their burden, Friends of Karen will cover a portion of their living costs at the Ronald McDonald House, cell phone expenses, and childcare expenses for the sibling(s) left at home.