A funding bridge for
working families
When a child is seriously ill, injured, or disabled, the entire family struggles. The emotional and physical pain is difficult enough, but many times it’s followed by a financial crisis.

Fred’s Footsteps provides interim funds for otherwise financially stable families to help relieve the financial stress of their child’s illness or traumatic injury. It’s a meaningful, life-changing bridge of assistance that helps carry a family from one side of a crisis to the other.

Here’s How it Works:

Social worker refers family in crisis and works with the family to complete the application
Fred’s Footsteps Grant Advisory Committee reviews the application
Funding is granted to relieve specific financial burden
Family is accepted into program and receives relief from financial burden
How We Support Families

When a family’s income is impacted due to a child’s medical condition, Fred’s Footsteps partners with their social worker to determine and address their most pressing financial needs to help keep them afloat – covering up to $10,000 of non-medical bills over the course of one year.

Every family is different. Fred’s Footsteps works with each family and their Social Worker to tailor our support to meet their unique needs.

 

Here are some expenses we help cover:

  • Rent and mortgage for families who have reduced their work hours to care for their child
  • Utility bills to ensure no interruption in these critical services for technology-dependent children
  • Grocery and household expenses often set aside to cover other, more critical needs
  • Transportation and gas for families travelling to and from hospitals, therapies, and other appointments
  • Home & car or van modifications to increase accessibility and provide independence for children with limited mobility
  • Specialty medical equipment to help meet a child’s therapeutic needs
  • Childcare expenses for siblings to provide stability and routine to a struggling household
  • Funeral expenses allowing a family in our program to grieve when the unthinkable happens
What Families Qualify

In order to serve families with the greatest need, Fred’s Footsteps follows specific criteria when awarding funding.

  • The child must be seriously or chronically ill at the time of the request, and receiving medical treatment, but not necessarily hospitalization.
  • The child must be under the age of 18.
  • There must be a demonstrated relationship between the child’s illness and the family’s financial need.
  • One of the primary caregivers must be employed or have a demonstrated work history with a recent change in work status due to the child’s illness.
  • The family must live in one of the following counties: PA - Lancaster, Northampton, Berks, Chester, Lehigh, Bucks, Philadelphia, Delaware, Montgomery; NJ - Atlantic, Cape May, Ocean, Cumberland, Salem, Camden, Gloucester, Burlington, Mercer; DE - New Castle.

Please remember that even if it appears that an applicant meets our basic guidelines, we may not be able to fund every request for assistance.

All applications must be submitted by a hospital / medical social worker to be reviewed by our Grant Advisory Committee.

How to Apply for Support

We strive to make the entire process easy and efficient for families who already have incredible stress in their lives.

For Families in Need

If you believe that you are eligible for funding through our program, please contact your social worker at the hospital where your child is receiving treatment, and they can walk you through the process. All applications must be submitted by a hospital social worker.

For Hospital Social Workers

Prior to submitting an application, please be sure to review our program eligibility criteria and the types of support and assistance we can provide. Our application is available online through the Social Worker Portal.