Be a Champion for Children
World Mental Health Day 2026
Tuesday, October 6, 2026 | 6:00 - 8:30 pm
Woodend Sanctuary & Mansion,
Chevy Chase, MD
Children in our region need us - now.
Champions for Children is a women-led, volunteer-powered network funding critical mental health care for children and families throughout DC, Maryland, and Virginia. We raise money and direct it to trusted local organizations doing the work: therapy for young children in crisis, protection for kids who’ve experienced abuse, and student-led mental health conversations on campuses across our region.
Our annual Be a Champion for Children event brings civic, healthcare, and business leaders together around World Mental Health Day — to raise critical funds, amplify important voices, and accelerate impact. Every dollar stays local, moving from sponsor to vetted grantee with minimal overhead through our all-volunteer organization.
As government cuts dismantle school-based mental health programs and suicide prevention initiatives, the gap between need and care has never been wider. Our grantees are meeting children and families in that gap —and we are proud to stand behind them.
7.7M
U.S. children experience a mental health disorder each year — roughly half receive no adequate care.
U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory, Protecting Youth Mental Health (2021)
1 IN 9
Adolescents in Washington, DC have serious thoughts of suicide each year.
National Survey on Drug Use and Health, SAMHSA (2023)
Our 2026 Honorees
Champions for Children is proud to recognize Dr. Brenda Jones Harden with the 2026 Champions for Children Lifetime Impact Award at Be a Champion for Children – World Mental Health Day October 6, 2026.
This award recognizes a leader whose lifetime of work has profoundly and lastingly advanced the well-being of children and families — and Dr. Jones Harden embodies that definition completely.
As the Ruth Harris Ottman Professor of Child and Family Welfare at Columbia University and Professor Emerita at the University of Maryland, Dr. Jones Harden has spent decades bridging research and practice on behalf of children facing the greatest adversity. Her work in early childhood mental health, child welfare, and home visiting has shaped programs, systems, and policies across the country. As past President of Zero to Three and a leader of the national Healthy Brain and Child Development Study, she has helped build a field — and inspired a generation.
In Dr. Jones Harden's own words: "Mental health is foundational to a child's ability to learn, grow, and thrive."
Champions for Children is proud to recognize Dr. Sandy Chung with the 2026 Outstanding Leader in Equity and Access for Children's Mental Health Award at our annual Be a Champion for Children, World Mental Health Day, event on October 6, 2026.
Dr. Chung has dedicated her career to ensuring that children and families—regardless of where they live or their circumstances—have access to the mental health care they need. As a pediatrician, advocate, and national leader, she has been a powerful voice for advancing children's health and well-being.
Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Chung has championed innovative approaches to expanding access to care, including Virginia's Mental Health Access Program (VMAP). Through VMAP, pediatric primary care providers receive training, consultation, and resources that enable them to identify, treat, and support children with mental health concerns—bringing help to families where they already receive care and reducing barriers to treatment.
Dr. Chung's leadership reminds us that meaningful change happens when vision, innovation, and determination come together on behalf of children. Watch her video message here.
Turning Community Leadership into Local Impact
Be a Champion for Children brings together civic, healthcare, and business leaders to raise critical funds for children’s mental health across DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Each of our grantees is carefully selected for measurable impact, strong local leadership, and a proven commitment to serving children and families facing the greatest barriers to care.
Our fundraising events have helped ensure that thousands of children and families received timely, life‑changing mental health support—care that would otherwise be out of reach. With your help, we have raised more than $175,000 to support 4 incredible local organizations which include The Lourie Center, Safe Shores, Morgan's Message and Generation Hope.
Join us in making the impact even larger this year.
Our 2026 Grantees
Safe Shores serves children and families impacted by abuse, neglect, and trauma. The Emergency Victims Crisis Fund provides holistic support to 20–25 families: utilities, beds, food, medical care, transportation, and therapy. For children in the acute aftermath of trauma, this wraparound care is the bridge to stability and healing.
Camp Greentree, operated by JSSA, provides a safe environment and delivers evidence‑informed mental health care: daily therapeutic group sessions, emotional regulation interventions, and integrated behavioral‑health care to its campers. In 2025, Camp Greentree served 90 campers with significant behavioral, emotional, or trauma‑related needs, 80% of whom were experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
Morgan’s Message tackles mental health stigma facing student-athletes through a peer-led ambassador model. Your support sustains more than 1,327 student ambassadors across 264 DMV campuses for a full semester — young people trained to open conversations, reduce stigma, and connect peers to care. Funding also supports The Mental Matchup podcast and blog.
The Lourie Center provides comprehensive mental health services to Maryland’s most vulnerable children. Your support funds 100 assessment screenings and follow-up services for 30 children — including multi-disciplinary team reviews and on-call clinical support for the highest-risk kids. For many families in crisis, this intervention is the turning point.
AN EVENING TO REMEMBER
Join us in making a difference.
Join civic, healthcare, and business leaders from across the DMV for an intimate evening at Woodend Sanctuary & Mansion — one of the region’s most beautiful settings — to celebrate, connect, and take action for children’s mental health.
Woodend Sanctuary & Mansion, Chevy Chase Maryland
“As the need for mental health support has grown, government cuts are dismantling school-based mental health programs and suicide prevention initiatives. Our grantees are committed to filling that gap, and we are proud to support them.”
— PAULA WIDERLITE, PRESIDENT & CO-FOUNDER, CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN
Be A Champion for Children
Join us as a sponsor today!
