Donating in Tikva's Memory

Several people have asked where they might make a donation in Tikva's memory. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness.

Calling UCSF to inquire about the possibilities has been on my list of to-do's since Tikva's passing. About a week after the celebration, I finally felt I had it in me to start making the calls to learn more. It took a while to get in touch with the right people, ask all the questions I had, and gather as much information as possible. I'm nothing if not thorough...

Here are some suggestions for ways to donate - based on my experience with Tikva, the unique needs of babies like her and their families, and ways in which we can help. Thank you for your desire to help other babies who are both fragile and mighty like Tikva. By the way, all donations are tax-deductible.

There are two ways to donate through UCSF:

1. Families come to UCSF from all over California, and in some cases all over the country and from abroad, to get the most advanced care for their children. We saw so many families whose babies were medically transported in from other parts of California, and whose families needed places to stay when they could come be with their children. Sometimes they slept in the waiting room until the social workers could find them temporary housing while there were there. How incredibly blessed we are to have had our own home so close to the hospital, and such a supportive community bringing us meals. How important it was for babies to have the love and presence of their parents there with them as much as possible.

To directly help families who have children in the ICN, there are two ways to donate to UCSF Children's Hospital's "Pediatric Social Work Fund." Donations to this fund are used to help pay for food, housing, transportation and, in particular, unintended medical expenses that families often cannot afford to pay for their children's care - such as co-payments or deductibles not covered by insurance, or expensive medicines or medical equipment.

If you would like to make a donation by check, make them out to: UCSF Childrens Hospital.

In the memo section of the check and/or an attached letter, write Pediatric Social Work Fund - ICN. You can also specify that the donations are in memory of Tikva Ahava Spinrad.

Please send checks to:

UCSF Children's Hospital
Attn: Tara James - Box 0210
505 Parnassus Ave
San Francisco, CA 94143

If you would like to make a donation by credit card, you can do so online in the following way:

Go to http://www.ucsfhealth.org/childrens/about/donation.html.
The second paragraph on the page says "Online" and has a link called makeagift.ucsf.edu. Click on that link on the page.
Select your gift type (gift or pledge).
On the same page, select the Gift Destination as Children's Hospital.
Just below in that same section, select Family Services - Social Work Emergency Services.
Under additional comments, you can specify that you would like your gift to be designated specifically to the ICN. You can also select how the funds will be used - for uncovered medical expenses, room and board for families, transportation costs, etc.
Just below that you can specify that your gift be made in memory of someone (click Yes). This will take you to a Tribute Giving page where you can fill out some or all of the information. If you need it, our address is:

1378 36th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94122

2. Another wonderful way to help babies is by making a donation to the UCSF Fetal Treatment Center's Kids & Moms Foundation. I spoke with Dr. Harrison, the doctor who was the first ever in the world to do fetal surgeries of any kind. We had met with him early on when we returned from Israel to discuss the possibility of the experimental fetal surgery for babies with CDH. When I sent an email to the Kids & Moms Foundation asking for more information, I received a call from Dr. Harrison directly. He explained that donations to the foundation go to support:

Research to prevent birth anomalies in the future.
Fetal treatments to improve chances of survival and better quality of life once the baby is born.
Neonatal treatments - such as all those Tikva received - to help the child once s/he is born.
Long-term care while the child is in the ICN and after the child goes home.
Additional support for families with children in the ICN (similar to the Pediatric Social Work Fund).

You can make a donation by clicking the Donation button on their website, using a PayPal account (credit cards okay too). When making your donation, you can specify what you would like your donation to support. I would recommend sending them an email (address also on website) after you have made your donation to let them know it is on its way and again specify what you would like your donation to support. If you'd like, you can even specify that your donation support babies with CDH.

I would recommend any project of UCSF's that support the health and wellbeing of children, and also helps their families. The Children's Hospital is an incredible place filled with heart, soul and incredible hope.


To make a more general donation to support research and information on behalf of babies like Tikva everywhere, please visit the March of Dimes website.

With incredible gratitude and love,

Tikva's Family, the Spinrads