About
“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” - Thich Nhat Hanh
Our organization is comprised of a group of parents whose children have been diagnosed with liver disease and have received a liver transplant. We understand the initial shock of diagnoses, the sudden flurry of information dispensed in the language of medical jargon, and the feeling of having your entire world turned upside-down in an instant. We’ve spent long weeks and months in the hospital, celebrating birthdays, holidays, and milestones with the quiet beep of IV pumps and heart-rate monitors in the background.
We also understand hope. We know that traveling this road is made so much easier with the help of those who have walked it before us.
Liver Mommas & Families began in 2011 when a group of parents decided to make the holidays a little more bearable for children and their families admitted to Georgetown Hospital over the Christmas Holiday by bringing traditional holiday dinner and gifts to celebrate the season. Out of that effort we developed into a resource for families, offering support through our online support group. In 2015 our organization became a Nonprofit, and in 2017 LMF was formally recognized as a 501c3.
Today we support four pediatric liver transplant hospitals, to include Georgetown University Hospital, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital. Our team of 100% volunteers work closely with Child Life representatives to provide support where it’s needed most both pre and post-transplant.
In 2024, we rolled out our C.A.R.E.S. Grant program, offering small, spot grants to Child Life programs to any Pediatric Liver Transplant hospital with a demonstrated need.
We continue that support beyond the hospital, offering resources on our website for parents and families to help navigate some of the challenges presented by having a child with life-threatening liver disease and liver transplant. Our team members provide individual outreach to families through online support efforts and care packages.
We work with our partners to help with fundraising efforts, raise awareness for pediatric liver disease and organ transplant, be a voice in pediatric liver transplant advocacy, provide funding for research, and networking with other like-minded and complimentary organizations.
As we look toward the future, we hope to establish a robust outreach to families who are in-patient with their child through our LMF Ambassador program, connecting local families within individual centers to support and provide comfort items and personal care needs. We are also planning monthly, virtual care-giver support groups! Stay tuned for more information on these programs.
Where there is a need, we aim to find a way to fill it. Where there is uncertainty, we seek to provide hope. Together, we can imagine a better tomorrow.