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The Kids-N-Hope Foundation is commemorating its 25th Anniversary in 2021 with a year of events and celebrations. The Kids-N-Hope Foundation provides support for children’s health and life services, specifically music therapy, at hospitals throughout the Philadelphia region. 

 

The Kids-N-Hope Foundation was formed in 1996 when American Heritage Credit Union became the first credit union in the country to form its own charitable organization. To date, the Foundation has raised over $2.1 million dollars for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

 

“I was looking for a way that our credit union could provide a long-term solution to help fund music therapy programs at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP),” recalls Bruce Foulke, President & CEO of American Heritage Credit Union and Founder of The Kids-N-Hope Foundation.  “As a longtime workplace partner of CHOP, we saw firsthand the important role that music therapy played in the rehabilitation, recovery and comfort of pediatric patients.  Ultimately, the Kids-N-Hope Foundation was born out of that need.”

 

Today, the foundation continues to support and fund the Music Therapy Program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, as well as at other hospitals within American Heritage’s workplace partner program. Music therapy is the applied use of music by a certified music therapist to target clinical goal areas with music-based strategies to promote positive health outcomes. The Kids-N-Hope Foundation believes every child undergoing medical treatment has the right to receive music therapy as an integrated component to their medical care.

 

In order to fund and support child life services, like music therapy, the Kids-N-Hope Foundation hosts annual events including their Car Show, Gelatin Olympics and Golf Classic. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation needed to get creative with new, virtual fundraising efforts to continue their mission while keeping participants and supporters safe. Virtual events like the Labor of Love Virtual Ride or Stride, 25 Miles in My Shoes Walk-A-Thon, and the Kids-N-Hope Foundation Got Magic! were created and helped the Foundation raise over $349,000 in 2020. 

 

The Foundation and American Heritage Credit Union are pleased to welcome the community and supporters to the first in-person event in over a year. During the American Heritage and 98.1 WOGL 17th Annual Car Show and Member Appreciation Day, the Foundation will host a free, on-campus concert performed by the band LECOMPT. The Kids-N-Hope 25th Anniversary celebration will be a rock & roll experience like no other. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy decades of classic rock covers. The events will take place on August 14th at 2060 Red Lion Road, Philadelphia from 10am-3pm, with the concert taking place from 12pm-1:30pm.

 

“I am thrilled to have our members, the community and our Foundation supporters back on our campus to celebrate this outstanding milestone together,” stated Foulke. “Without the continual support of event participants, sponsors, and the community, The Kids-N-Hope Foundation would not be able to carry out its mission to positively impact child life services and provide creative outlets like music therapy to children undergoing medical treatment.”

 

For upcoming events and to learn more about The Foundation, visit www.kidsnhope.org or call 215-969-2938.