Supporting families during a child's illness or injury
Fred's Footsteps provides financial relief to working families in the Philadelphia region who find themselves in a crisis due to the costs associated with caring for a seriously ill, injured, or disabled child.
Meaningful support that changes lives
Each family we connect with and each dollar you donate is done with one purpose and one goal: to provide substantial, real-life, practical support to struggling families so their child's care can be their only worry.
1765+
Families helped
9.3M+
Distributed to families over 19 years
19
Counties in PA, SJ, and DE served
275
Hospital social workers partnering with us
Families we've helped
Meet Milana

Meet the Marino Family and their ten-year-old daughter, Milana, of Turnersville, New Jersey. See how Fred’s Footsteps helped renovate this family’s home to safely care for Milana.

Meet Kellen

Kellen of Newark, DE, lives with a rare disease that made shower time a struggle for the family.

Meet Robbi Marie

Rob and Tonya’s precious baby girl, Robbi Marie, is a true miracle. This family spent the first 361 days of her life in the hospital, but the journey of caring for their medically-complex child in their Pennsauken, NJ, home was just beginning.

Meet Grace

The Wallace Family of Delaware County was getting ready to welcome their second child when her premature birth led to a financial crisis they could have never seen coming.

Meet Mia

Mia’s family turned to Fred's Footsteps for help with their mortgage and utilities when Mia was born 3 months too early.

Meet Jaelin

Jaelin was a healthy teenager getting ready to graduate high school when she suddenly and quite unexpectedly became sick. Her illness resulted in a liver transplant and ultimate bilateral trans-tibial amputations as a result of sepsis.

Meet Vivian

Vivian was born at just 29 weeks gestation and was hospitalized for the first 18 months of her life due to an undiagnosed, extremely rare chromosomal abnormality and resulting medical complications. Her parents had her transferred from their Indiana hospital to CHOP when treatment options ran out, and they were struggling while adjusting to a new city, new jobs, and new treatment for Vivian.

Meet Max

Max was born at just 24 weeks gestation and was in the NICU at CHOP for over 200 days due to medical complications from his prematurity. His parents took as much time off of work as they could to be by his side, but they were quickly falling behind on mortgage and utility payments.

Meet Kyle

Kyle was hit by a drunk driver in June 2015 while skateboarding to a friend’s birthday party. He suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, multiple bone fractures, and doctors feared for his survival. His mother was a single parent, taking care of five boys at the time of the accident, and was forced to stop working.

Meet Miles

Miles and his brother, George, were born at just 31 weeks gestation. George was healthy at birth, but Miles had multiple complications related to his premature birth and Skeletal Dysplasia, including chronic respiratory failure. Miles needed a tracheostomy and feeding tube for support.

Meet Hayden

Hayden was diagnosed with retinoblastoma when she was four years old after having symptoms of eye drift and eye pain. She had her right eye removed immediately after diagnosis and began chemotherapy shortly thereafter. Before Hayden's illness, both of her parents were very stably employed.

Helping families when they need it most

Our mission is to help working families stay on their feet through the most trying times of their lives. When a child is sick or is facing a difficult medical condition, a parent's world stops, yet life goes on around them. They may miss work for doctor's appointments, exhaust their FMLA time, or go through most of their savings just to be there for their children, both sick and well.

Helping families
when they need
it most
Our mission is to help working families stay on their feet through the most trying times of their lives. When a child is sick or is facing a difficult medical condition, a parent's world stops, yet life goes on around them. They may miss work for doctor's appointments, exhaust their FMLA time, or go through most of their savings just to be there for their children, both sick and well.
Funds to
help families
focus
Fred's Footsteps helps these families by providing direct financial assistance for non-medical expenses tailored to the family's unique needs. We cover a wide variety of expenses from household bills to one-time extraordinary expenses like medical equipment or home modifications. All so that a child's care can be a parent's only worry.
Support that
sustains
We know that there are no quick fixes, and many families need continued support, not just momentary help, as they go through the ups and downs of their child's illness. That's why we are the only program in the region to offer a life-changing bridge - spanning the course of up to one year with a monetary value of up to $10,000 - to families during their time of need.
Encouragement
for the road
ahead
Beyond the financial, Fred’s Footsteps also acts as an advocate for our families, supporting their journey and linking them to other organizations and families in similar situations that may be able to provide further assistance. All of this is following in the footsteps of the late G. Fred DiBona, Jr. and his legacy of championing children in the healthcare industry.