As This Moment: Put a Child’s Future First reaches its close, we are proud to celebrate the incredible progress donors helped make possible for kids and families at UPMC Children’s. Across clinical care, research, patient experience, and community health, your generosity helped to put a child’s future first.
UPMC Children’s Heart Institute Opening
The new UPMC Children’s Heart Institute is now open, bringing advanced technology, specialized teams, and thoughtfully designed spaces together to support children with heart conditions from around the world. Donors contributed more than $35 million to help make this milestone possible.
💜 Spotlight: When doctors discovered a defect in Jonas’ heart, an innovative solution at UPMC Children’s helped repair his heart and spared him from open-heart surgery. His story is a powerful reminder of what advanced pediatric heart care can make possible.
$1 Million for Art Therapy
Supporters came together to unlock the full $1 million matching gift for Art Therapy from a generous donor, doubling the impact for a program that brings comfort, creativity, and healing to patients and families. This generosity strengthened art therapy support now and for years to come.
💜 Spotlight: Art Therapy became a lifeline for Raven, while she was caring for her twin daughters, Genevieve and Genesis, in the NICU.
Fueling Early Research
Through Grantmakers, Children’s Trust members help fuel promising pediatric research by directly supporting rising investigators at UPMC Children’s. In 2026, members awarded $150,000 to three researchers advancing the treatments of the future. Throughout This Moment, Children’s Trust has supported early research in respiratory infection, brain tumors, asthma, epilepsy, and more.
Learn how you can get involved in Children’s Trust.
Celebrating 10 Years of Walk for Children’s
2025 marked the 10-year anniversary of Walk for Children’s. Our largest fundraising event of the year, Walk for Children’s celebrates our brave patients we call champions, as well as their families and the staff that care for them. Throughout the campaign, Walk for Children’s has raised more than $5 million!
Opening Behavioral Health Walk-In Clinics
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, including a lead gift from Elizabeth L. and John P. Surma, families who reside in communities south of Pittsburgh now have quicker and easier access to mental health care through the new Behavioral Health Walk-In Clinic at UPMC Children’s South in South Fayette Township. This family-friendly clinic offers the same welcoming environment as the walk-in clinic at the main hospital.
💜 Spotlight: After the loss of their son, Matt, Tom and Katie have become devoted supporters and fundraisers for UPMC Children’s, most recently supporting the opening of the new South Fayette Walk-In Clinic.
Supporting Child Life
Child Life is key to enhancing patient experience, helping children understand and cope with treatment through play, education, and distraction. These services make the hospital feel a little less scary and a lot more supportive for kids and families, and through This Moment, donors have supported these invaluable services.
Every achievement in this campaign reflects the power of a community that believes in putting a child’s future first. Thank you for helping advance care, spark discovery, strengthen support for families, and build a healthier future for kids in Pittsburgh and beyond.