Our Mission:  To provide emotional, financial and advocacy support for children with a life-threatening illness and their families, in order to help keep them stable, functioning and able to cope.

Friends of Karen is a registered 501(c)(3) charity and the only organization in the New York metropolitan area to provide a comprehensive range of services -- at no cost -- to families caring for a child with a life-threatening illness.

Driven by compassion for families facing the most difficult experience imaginable, our expert social workers, committed staff and dedicated volunteers provide vital, practical and comprehensive services tailored to the specific needs of each family -- and each family member -- to help free them of everyday concerns so they have more time to love.

Who We Are: Friends of Karen was founded in 1978 by Sheila Petersen.  A friend’s daughter, Karen, was terminally ill, and she wanted to come home from the hospital to live her final days surrounded by her family.  Karen’s family’s insurance did not cover home care and her family could not afford the cost themselves. Sheila galvanized the community to help raise funds to enable Karen to remain at home.  

When Karen died, Sheila established Friends of Karen as a resource for other families who had a child with a life-threatening illness. Since then, Friends of Karen has supported 5,000 children and their families. When siblings are counted, Friends of Karen has touched the lives of more than 12,400 children in the New York Tri-State area.

“When parents of a terminally or catastrophically ill child receive financial and emotional
help, they have more time to love.”  
               Sheila Petersen, Founder, Friends of Karen

Who We Serve:  Friends of Karen serves families with children (birth to age 21) who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and live in any of 22 counties in the New York metropolitan area.   In 2012, Friends of Karen helped 1,375 children (554 seriously ill children and 821 siblings). 

Friends of Karen works with 22 major hospitals in the Tri-State area.  Most of the children and families are referred to us by their social worker at the hospital where they are being treated.  Friends of Karen serves children and their families regardless of race, religion, gender, national origin, or cultural heritage.

What We Do:  Friends of Karen’s core Family Support Program offers individualized case management provided by a team of experienced, professional social workers. 
Our support includes:

• Emotional support, including supportive guidance, bereavement support and a Sibling Support Program that provides specially-trained counselors who work one-on-one and in small groups with sisters and brothers of the children who are ill, allowing them to express their feelings and thoughts, and to develop the means to cope with what is happening in their family.
• Financial support through direct payment of illness-related expenses not covered by insurance (i.e., doctor and nursing fees, prescriptions and lab bills) and basic living expenses (i.e., rent, mortgage and utility bills) that are no longer affordable when parents leave their job to care for their child. We also help cover the cost of childcare for siblings, and hospital travel and meals.
• Advocacy support to ensure families have access to all available benefits from government and other agencies; support from other organizations; pro bono legal counsel; and help with special educational needs.

“When we were going through our daughter’s illness, we would not have made it through without Friends of Karen.  We will NEVER forget all that you did financially and emotionally.”   Myra and Jesse Poe

Our other important programs:

• Holiday Adopt-A-Family:  In 2012, 750 children received holiday gifts from their individual wish lists.
• Back-to-School:  In 2012, 659 children received a new backpack filled with school supplies and a gift card for back-to-school clothing.
• Annual Candle Lighting Ceremony for bereaved families, attended by over 400 family and friends in 2012.
• Supermarket gift cards:  No family should have to choose between paying for medicines or chemotherapy for a child and feeding their family.  In 2012, Friends of Karen distributed over $35,000 in supermarket gift cards and 144 Thanksgiving food baskets to families in need.
• Birthday Gifts for sick children and their siblings. In 2012, we sent presents with a personalized card to 747 children.

“Thank you, Friends of Karen, for assisting us in every possible way, for standing on the front line for us, for bringing up our spirits during this battle. Thank you for making our otherwise obscure path a clear one full of hope, possibilities and friends who truly understand.”       Nathanael’s parents

Our Financials: Our 2012-2013 fiscal year budget is $3.5 million.  82₵ of every $1.00 raised goes directly to supporting families. Friends of Karen covers $100,000 each month in direct family expenses.

Charity Navigator, an independent organization that evaluates the financial health and responsibility of thousands of U.S. charities, has given Friends of Karen a 4-star rating – their highest award – for the fifth year in a row. Only 4% of evaluated charities have received the 4-star rating at least five consecutive times, a designation indicating exceptional financial trustworthiness.

Our Locations: Friends of Karen is headquartered in Purdys, New York, with two regional offices – in New York City (Manhattan) and on Long Island (Port Jefferson). We have 14 full-time and 9 part-time staff members – and more than 150 volunteers. 

Questions?  Click here to contact us or call 914-617-4042
In Queens and Long Island, you may call 631-473-1768 x304.