When a family is at Nicklaus Children’s for a longer stay, meal planning is often not a priority. Nutrition is important for maintaining stamina for family members and also provides the opportunity for a short walk outside of their child’s hospital room. Unfortunately, in addition to other unanticipated costs of a hospital stay, food costs can add up. 

In collaboration with our Food and Nutrition Services department, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation is excited to launch Round Up, a new initiative created to provide meal cards and infant feeding options to Nicklaus Children’s families. When you visit the Hospital’s main campus, you can round your check to the nearest dollar at the Gift Shop, Golden Cub Café, or Miracles Café to benefit our patient families. 

For Alma, whose son Axel was diagnosed with cancer, the Nicklaus Children’s meal card program was the support they didn’t know they needed – until they did.

After being diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Axel spent the next month in the hospital receiving treatment. Not wanting to leave Axel alone during this time, Alma requested permission from work to spend her days next to her son. It was during this difficult time of treatment that the meal card program helped Alma not only take care of her son, but herself as well.  

“There are many emotions that one has during those difficult times and food is the last thing on one’s mind,” said Alma, Axel’s mother. “The support from the meal card program was important to us because it sustained us during the long and difficult days of treatment and eliminated a worry.” 

As of August 26, when you visit our Main Campus Gift Shop, Golden Cub Café, and Miracles Café, you can choose to Round Up your bill to the nearest dollar at the register and help meal cards and infant feeding support to patients and their families through Nicklaus Children’s Food and Nutrition Services. 

Round Up is one of the many ways we provide optimal service and care at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. Please consider engaging in this exciting new initiative when you purchase your next lunch, coffee pick-me-up, or get-well gift – and know that when you do, your extra change is making an impact. 

Just look for the Round Up signage near the register at the Hospital and encourage others to Round Up!

To learn more about how you can make a difference in the lives of our children and families, please visit nicklauschildrens.org/give.