The gift of hope

During my tenure as CEO of ChildServe, we have embarked on a number of new and exciting adventures. A few include launching the largest fundraising campaign in the organization’s history, our $10 million Forward Together Campaign, a mere five months into my role as CEO in 2018; completing that campaign; and opening both the Variety Behavioral Health Clinic and Jojo’s Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit in the midst of a global pandemic. To say we learned a few things along the way would be an understatement! 

As we plan for our future campus expansions in Des Moines, Ames and Iowa City, as well as regional growth throughout the state over the next several years, we know some key learnings to be true. 

Mission matters

Above all, it’s your mission that resonates with the community. When families, guests and community members come through our doors at ChildServe, we often hear we have something so magical you can feel it. While some may say it’s our breadth of services for children of all ages and abilities, we know it’s a combination of the children and families we serve, our skilled team members who believe in the spirit of every child, and our commitment to partner with those families to help children with special health care needs live a great life. 

That thread of passion runs through every decision we make to grow our programs and services, expand our facilities, and invest in the future. There is a significant unmet need for children with special health care needs in our state and our country – and ChildServe is committed to helping fill that need. We also know Iowans are incredibly philanthropic and care about making a better future for the next generation – our children. Starting from our humble beginnings in 1928 as the Junior League Convalescent Home, the organization served children recovering from tuberculosis, polio and rheumatic fever. Today, ChildServe provides more than 30 services to over 5,600 children from 73 Iowa counties. This growth and transformation over our 94-year history has been possible as a result of the generosity of our community. 

Our shared belief in bettering today for a brighter tomorrow enables us to truly make an impact. 

Bring your business mindset

While our mission is at the center of all we do, we know we must operate wisely to be sustainable for years to come. At ChildServe, our team members bring a nonprofit heart and a business mindset to each day. 

Put simply, ChildServe is a specialty pediatric health care provider for children, teens and young adults with special health care needs. Our key focus areas include complex medical care, pediatric rehabilitation, autism and behavioral health, and community-based services. 

From a business standpoint, we have an operating budget of over $60 million – we use every penny of that, and then some, to provide quality, life-changing services and support for children and families in Iowa. Families use a combination of private health insurance and Medicaid to cover the cost of these services, and for the most part, we get the job done with that coverage. 

However, with the help of philanthropy, we are able to take our services, facilities and support to the next level. For example, through the generosity of Variety – the Children’s Charity, who provided a $1 million gift to our Forward Together Campaign in 2018, ChildServe was able to open the Variety Behavioral Health Clinic in 2020. And, thanks to ChildServe board trustee Joanie Houston and her husband, Dan, who made a personal gift of $500,000 alongside a matching gift of $500,000 from the Principal Foundation, our new rehabilitation unit – Jojo’s Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit – opened this past spring. ChildServe donors and supporters make so much possible through their generosity; perhaps the most important is the powerful gift of hope. 

As we plan for future growth and expansion, we must continue to bring our nonprofit hearts to our discussions to meet the unmet need for health care services in Iowa, but also our strategic business mindset to operate as diligent financial stewards. 

Dream big – like a 4-year-old in a Batman costume!

At ChildServe, we like to shoot for the stars – after all, it’s in our DNA to see cardboard boxes for what they can become (rocket ships) instead of what they start out as. Just like the 4-year-old who is more interested in the box a gift comes in than the toy itself, it’s that sense of creativity and possibility ChildServe team members need to plan for the future of health care. We experienced this through the pandemic – our team members accelerated telehealth services to continue therapy appointments; our aquatics center was transformed into our quarantine area – the pool was drained and covered to make more room for beds; and so much more. 

That spirit of innovation has always been ingrained in ChildServe, its team members, and the children and families we serve. This year, we revealed our new vision statement – to transform lives through pediatric health care. ChildServe, with significant support from our donors and community members, is doing that in big ways. We have major plans for expansion and renovation as part of our three-year strategic plan. In fact, we broke ground on our Ames expansion project in September, to double our impact and footprint on that campus; we developed designs to expand our Iowa City center; and we have plans on the horizon to open additional satellite locations over the next several years. 

Stay tuned, there is always more work to be done and more hope to give. 

Why is philanthropy important to our community?

I believe the spirit of philanthropy is perfectly described in the ancient Greek proverb, which, summarized, says, “Society grows great when we plant trees under whose shade we do not expect to sit.” Philanthropy is about sharing our wealth, whether that be through financial support, our time, talents or other resources, for the betterment of our community. The Central Iowa community is incredibly philanthropic, making so many of the programs, services and treatment spaces ChildServe provides as a nonprofit organization possible. At its core, philanthropy gives the powerful gift of hope – that tomorrow can be even better than today.