About Us

Mission

Friends of Karen’s mission is to provide emotional, financial, and advocacy support for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families, in order to help keep them stable, functioning, and able to cope.

Since our founding in 1978, we have served over 4,000 children and their families. When siblings are counted we have touched the lives of over 10,000 children.

Friends of Karen offers its services regardless of race, color, creed, sex or handicap in compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.

Our Core Values

Friends of Karen operates in accordance with its core values:

COMPASSION:  We were founded out of the kindness of one friend toward another.  We are inspired by that same spirit of compassion, striving to bring hope into the lives of our children and their families who are struggling with life-threatening illnesses.

DEDICATION:  Our dedication to the well-being of our children and families is unwavering and enduring.

RESPECT:  We respect each other's roles, expertise and experience, and support each other professionally.

We treat all people and especially each other with dignity and consideration.

We acknowledge with gratitude the critical role of our Board of Directors, our volunteers, our donors and our communities as they embrace our mission and enable our work.

INTEGRITY:  We hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards and recognize the importance of confidentiality and discretion in everything we do.

We strive to provide our services and allocate our resources in a fair and impartial manner.

IMPACT:  We are motivated by the immediate and tangible nature of our work.  We operate with energy, determination and passion, never compromising our responsibility to have a meaningful impact on the lives of our children and families.