WHAT WE DO
The Children’s Guild Foundation is a non-profit organization which operates as a private operating foundation with a mission to advocate and fund rehabilitative healthcare, research, education and therapeutic recreation programs for special needs children.
OUR MISSION AND VISION
To support and advocate for health care, research, education and therapeutic recreation for children with special needs.
To be a catalyst of demonstrable change for children with special needs and their families by funding opportunities that will allow them to achieve their highest potential.
OUR STORY
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In the summer of 1909, a small group of women gathered to open a private summer retreat for disabled children in Fort Erie. This group of women were innovators, risk-takers, advocates, but most of all, they cared about the current conditions under which handicapped children lived, so they set out to make a difference.
It was January of 1910 when the group purchased their first home at 127 College Street for seven children, and only a year later when they bought their second home at 487 Niagara Street for fifteen children. As the years went by, their numbers grew to forty, and when Polio hit from 1916 to 1938, the community turned to The Guild for their help and guidance in dealing with this devastating disease. Buffalo News Founder, E.H. Butler Sr, gave a gift of $5,000 to The Guild that allowed for house renovations and expansion. Nine years after inception, The Guild had grown in stature and reputation.
The Guild was self-supporting and operating as an inpatient facility by 1935, with medical personnel and social workers renowned regionally and nationally. They affiliated themselves with The Joint Charities and Community Fund for assistance with financing their home and through a generous donation, The Guild was able to expand yet again to the corner of Delaware and Hodge Avenues. They completed construction on a one hundred vacancy home in only three years.
For the next twenty years, an array of diseases sifted their way through the Guild's corridor and were being addressed by the staff. When the Salk vaccine came to air in 1958 preventing further spread of Polio, the Guild foresaw the change in health care delivery and began to revamp their mission; they would become the first U.S. Outpatient Rehabilitation Center!
A partnership between The Children's Hospital of Buffalo and The Guild formed in 1959 when they began to provide medical and direct professional services while The Guild provided the building, it's maintenance, and substantial financial support. Over the years, The Robert Warner Rehabilitation Center expanded and the Speech, Language & Hearing Center and Robert E. Cooke Genetics Division took up residence in The Guild Building along with several Early Childhood and Family Services programs. When the turn of the century came, The Guild also provided funding to additional non-profits in the areas of healthcare, education, recreation and research through grant programs. They had come full circle and, in the process, changed the lives of many children and society’s way of dealing with disabling conditions.
In 2004, The Guild found an opportunity to once again improve conditions and the delivery of services for special needs children by operating solely as a Foundation dedicated to serving the community through advocation and support. To complete this maturation, The Guild officially changed their name to The Children's Guild Foundation, and their real estate at 936 Delaware Avenue went up for sale. This change in the funding model and focus on the mission led to the propagation of funds as grant awards to non-profit organizations serving this special group of children.
The Children's Guild Building was sold in 2006, and the programs moved to locations within the Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo and The Kaleida Health System. Proceeds from the sale of their building were added to the endowment, providing additional funding for programs and services. Over the last 20 years, The Children's Guild Foundation has contributed over $20 million to programs, services and research projects focused on improving the lives of children with special needs.
The story of The Children’s Guild Foundation, although entrenched deeply in our community’s heritage, is by no means complete. Our focus has been constant, a commitment to children with special needs through support and opportunities, so they may achieve their full potential. We remain devoted to our mission and the premise that the success of tomorrow depends on the preparedness we are making today.
As we embark on our 100th year of service in Western New York, it is our goal to increase public awareness and bring forth knowledge of the challenges faced by this group of individuals, and the successes they achieve. We hope to better educate and engage our community so that they may embrace these children and continue the spirit of volunteerism and philanthropy. The Children's Guild Foundation enters this next century with plans for greater involvement, expanded services and programs, and a renewed commitment to this special group of children.
Our commitment continues...
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chair - Wendy T. Stahlka
Vice Chair - John H. Edholm, Sr.
Secretary - Colleen P. Fahey
Treasurer - Robert L. Lupica
Directors -
James A. Bourne
Renee A. Filip
Susan G. Koessler
Penny M. Munschauer, Esq.
Sarah L. Tasker
Robert J. Truesdell
William J. Williamson, Jr.
Margaret M. Zak
Directors Emeritus -
Carol A. Cox
John C. Heebner
Eugene A. Miller
M. Kathryn Schneider
Albert J. Wright, III
President - Catherine A. Gura
Email: cgura{at}thechildrensguild.org
Office : 716-362-9650 ext. 201