As many of you know our oldest son, Griffin, was born prematurely and spent three months at Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH) NICU. It was a scary and dark time for our family but one of the bright spots was the care that Griffin and our family received from the NICU team.  In the years following Griffin's discharge we've spent countless hours at NCH.  While no one wants to spend time at the hospital, the world-class care Griffin has received over the past eight years has allowed our boy to grow into a joyful, funny, and thriving eight year old!

When we walked out the NICU doors for the last time, with Griffin in our arms, we were overwhelmed with gratitude and vowed that one day we would find a way to give back to the place that gave us so much.  Over the past several months we have been working with the NICU and are proud to announce the creation of The Wheeler Family Fund.  The goal of the Wheeler Family Fund is to provide for NICU families in a practical way.  One of the realizations we had post-NICU is that we were fortunate to live very close to NCH and have a huge support system surrounding us…sometimes to assist with the simplest of life’s stressors.  Others parents we shared those hallways with were not as fortunate. Our hope is that by alleviating some of these daily hurdles, parents can turn their entire focus to their baby.

Example assistance could include:

• Money for a car repair that allows parents to drive to visit their baby (we most recently heard of a family that was limited to 1 visit per week due to lack of automobile but with that $500 repair would be there daily)
• Help with parking fees, meals or overnight hotel stays near NCH
• Sibling help to allow parents to spend alone time with their baby
• Cleaning service to enable parents to bring home their baby to a clean house
• Rent, utility and/or mortgage assistance for parents taking time off from work 

We are personally making a multi-year financial commitment and aim to provide for many families at NCH.  With over 260 beds in the NCH neonatal system and receiving over 3,000 babies each year, there is much to be done.  Will you consider championing this cause with us? Every single dollar raised will go directly to a NICU family in need. We will be running the Nationwide Children’s Hospital half marathon together this year on Sunday, October 20th in honor of Griffin and all NICU families.  Please consider a donation or giving us a high five along the route.  Thank you!

With deepest gratitude,

Collin and Shanna Wheeler