| The Children's Inn at NIH: CCPK Makes Dinner 
The Children’s Inn at NIH: CCPK Makes Dinner
for Kids and their Families
What do CCPK volunteers do for the Children’s Inn at NIH?
We make and serve dinner on Sunday or Monday nights, four to six times a year, for the children undergoing treatment at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda (NIH). We design a hot, delicious and kid-friendly menu from which our volunteers can choose to make one or more of the items. Some people make and drop off their items while others, who have the time, bring their food to the Inn and help us serve 80-100 children and their families who are staying at the Inn and the staff. Dates and the menu for dinner service are periodically published in the Sunday bulletin.
The parish annually collects money in January for the Children’s Inn as one of our Ministries of the Month.
Who is currently involved?
We have a core group of 14 parishioners and several occasional volunteers (like you perhaps?) who help with this ministry. The young people in our high school group (YAC) take full responsibility for one of the dinners each year. We also have volunteer musicians who provide dinner music and entertainment.
Want to sign up to help?
Note: The Inn is on the NIH campus, a U.S. federal installation, and photo I.D. is required to enter the NIH campus. The Inn asks that all dinner servers be in good health and 13 years or older due to the nature of the treatments at the NIH Clinic, but kids of all ages can help prepare a portion of the meal that gets dropped off for others to serve.
The Children’s Inn at NIH
7 West Drive, Bethesda, MD 20814-1509
301-451-9455
In June 1990, The Children's Inn at NIH opened its doors to pediatric patients and their families. Since then The Inn has been in continuous operation: 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Our doors never close. During the past 18 years, 8,684 seriously ill children and their families have made 40,000 visits to The Inn.
Children and families travel from all over the world to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) because conventional treatments have failed to have sufficient impact on their illnesses. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, NIH is the world's premier biomedical research facility. Children receive treatment for illnesses such as cancer, heart, lung, blood, bone and growth disorders, mental illnesses, and HIV infection.
The warmth and camaraderie of The Inn stand in sharp contrast to the isolation of a hotel room. In the lively atmosphere of The Inn, the kids and their families can put aside the challenges they face. The Inn gives kids a place to be kids for a while, instead of patients. At the end of the treatment day, they leave behind the IV drips, the needles, the nurses and doctors to return to The Inn and, most importantly, to the comforting presence of their families and caring staff and volunteers.
The overriding philosophy at The Children's Inn is that families make a difference in the lives of their sick children. To treat a patient effectively, the healthcare team must care for the family and child as one. The emotional comfort a family gives to a sick child and the mutual support among kids and families who share the same experience together are invaluable.
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