Kitchen and Dining Area INNitiative

The kitchen is the heart of every home, where a sense of belonging and community is instilled and nurtured. This is especially true at The Children’s Inn at NIH. After a long day at the NIH Clinical Center, it is important for families to feel a sense of flexibility concerning when and what food they can prepare for their family members. The communal nature of the kitchen and dining areas is also important in fostering a sense of shared experience and provides a home-like atmosphere where concerns, frustrations, fears and hopes may be shared with other families who can relate.

A major fundraising priority for The Inn is the complete redesign and renovation of two of The Inn’s older kitchen and dining areas. Now more than 20 years old, these kitchens are in need of major upgrades and design changes. In addition to redesigning the spaces to be more open and welcoming, The Inn will install all new cabinetry, appliances, counter tops, sinks and faucets, and dining room furniture. Approximately 14,500 meals are prepared in these kitchens on an annual basis.

Many donors and volunteers are working to support this important project. In fact, Celebrity Chef Paula Deen recently pledged her support of the new kitchens at an event on November 5, 2011 at the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show in Washington, DC. “The kitchen brings such comfort,” Paula said to Inn board member and renowned journalist, Cokie Roberts. “At the end of the day, it gives you a chance to heal.”

How You Can Help

To make a tax-deductible contribution to help The Children’s Inn renovate the two kitchen and dining areas click here, or write a check payable to The Children’s Inn at NIH and include “new kitchens” in the memo line. Send the check to:

The Children's Inn at NIH
7 West Drive
Bethesda, MD 20814-1509