Get Involved: Where Your Donation Goes

Care, Comfort and Community

By providing care, comfort and community, Family House eases the burdens families face when dealing with a child's life-threatening illness. Parents bring children to the University of California San Francisco Benoiff Children's Hospital from all over the country and all over the world without means to pay for the high price of a hotel room in San Francisco during their child's prolonged treatment lasting weeks or months.

Our facilities require ongoing upkeep that is central to providing a healthy environment for our guests:

Maintenance Projects

The purchase of new common area furniture to replace broken sofas, chairs, rockers, kitchen tables and plastic kitchen chairs in living rooms and kitchens.

Computer Upgrades

Our stand alone computers at stations in family room areas with printers.

Capital Replacements

In order to maintain a clean, homelike environment, large and small capital upgrades are ongoing.

Proximity to the Hospital

Our location is an essential feature of Family House. Daily commuting from surrounding areas such as Modesto or Salinas places additional financial and emotional burden on a family, which could have serious implications for a sick child. Studies conducted at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital show that sick children whose parents cannot be with them through this process recover at a slower rate than children whose parents are continuously present. Thus, keeping families together near a sick child is a critical component in healthcare. Free, clean, and close access to the hospital is the only way in which most families are able to feel rested and able to care for their critically ill child.

Recurring Family Needs

The following are different ways in which your donation will provide direct support to our families:

• $150 pays for:
  • 2 nights at Family House
  • 2 sets of queen sized sheets
  • 4 calling cards
  • 4 sets of twin sheets
  • 10 pillows
  • 30 bath towels
  • 45 wash cloths

• $300 pays for:
  • 4 nights at Family House
  • 5 gas cards
  • 8 sets of twin sheets

• $600 pays for:
  • 8 nights at Family House
  • 1 month of cleaning supplies
  • 10 gas cards
  • 6 month supply of lightbulbs

• $1,200 pays for:
  • 16 nights at Family House
  • 2 months of toilet paper, paper towels and Kleenex for 34 families
  • 2 freezers
  • New cookware for 6 kitchens
  • Framed bedroom art from Ikea