Giving back
4Montgomery’s Kids
This practice is committed to the communities it serves, and to one community in particular: children and teenagers in Montgomery County, Maryland, who are growing up in foster care. We invite our patients, their families, and our colleagues to join us in supporting 4Montgomery’s Kids.
What is 4Montgomery’s Kids?
4Montgomery’s Kids is a Bethesda-based nonprofit that, in its own words, “enriches the lives of abused and neglected children and youth in Montgomery County’s child welfare system by providing them with opportunities and services they would not otherwise receive.” Public agencies keep children safe and housed; 4Montgomery’s Kids pays for the things that make a childhood, the things a caseworker’s budget cannot cover and a foster placement may not stretch to.
Who benefits?
Children and young adults in Montgomery County foster care, from young children through youth aging out of the system. Since its founding the organization has made a difference for more than 2,800 of them. Requests come through caseworkers and are met one child at a time, for things such as:
- Summer camp enrollment
- Sports fees, music lessons, and extracurricular activities
- Tutoring and tablets for schoolwork
- Graduation caps, gowns, and celebrations
- Bicycles and recreational equipment
- Transportation to work, school, and visits
- Supplies for pregnant youth and new parents
- Security deposits and phones for youth leaving care
Why this cause
Dr. Giddens served on the Community Council of the Tree House Child Advocacy Center of Montgomery County, which cares for children who have experienced abuse and neglect, and she consults with attorneys who represent children in the county’s child-welfare system. Much of what a child in care needs is not medical at all: a bicycle, a summer away, a tutor, a phone to call a sibling. Those are the gaps 4Montgomery’s Kids fills, quietly and without a waiting list, and they matter as much to a child’s mental health as anything a clinic can offer.
How you can get involved
- Give directly
- Donations go straight to the children’s requests; the organization is volunteer-run with minimal overhead. Donate online, or by mail to 4Montgomery’s Kids, P.O. Box 34864, Bethesda, MD 20817.
- Give in a child’s name
- A gift in honor of a child’s birthday, graduation, or first day of school is a way for families in this practice to mark their own milestones by making one possible for someone else.
- Spread the word
- Most people in Montgomery County have never heard of 4Montgomery’s Kids. Sharing their website with a school, a congregation, a team, or an employer is often worth more than a single gift.
- Ask us
- If you would like to organize a drive, sponsor a specific need such as summer camp for one child, or learn more, contact the practice and we will put you in touch.
Other organizations we support
- The Tree House Child Advocacy Center of Montgomery County, Rockville, MD
- Postpartum Support International
- International Association for Premenstrual Disorders
Organizations are added as the practice grows. This page is provided for information; the practice is not affiliated with 4Montgomery’s Kids and receives nothing from donations made to it.