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Dear Friends,

As you may know, when you support the Children’s Fund, you uphold three important pillars of child and maternal health in our community and beyond: providing care for all families, regardless of their financial circumstances; sustaining vital family and community programs (as seen in this issue’s feature story about pet therapy); and enabling life-changing research.

That third pillar is embodied in the Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute, also known as MCHRI. The entire MCHRI community is dedicated to playing a leadership role locally and globally to promote maternal and child health. It is important to me that you know exactly what your Children’s Fund gifts support:

  • Because of you, Fernando Mendoza, MD, MPH, a professor of pediatrics, and his colleagues in the Division of General Pediatrics and the Stanford Immigration Policy Lab were able to conduct research into the health and well-being of children in immigrant families.
  • Anisha Patel, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics, was able to study the cost of promoting access to clean fresh drinking water in schools as an obesity prevention strategy.
  • And many other studies only possible because of generous donors like you. You can learn more about exciting research on our website, med.stanford.edu/mchri.

Thank you for your support of the Children’s Fund—and by extension MCHRI. You are making a tangible difference in the lives of mothers and children in our community and beyond.

With gratitude,

Mary B. Leonard, MD, MSCE
Arline and Pete Harman Professor and Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Director, Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute
Adalyn Jay Physician-In-Chief,
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2019 issue of the Children's Fund Update.