Special Projects
The Philly Baer Foundation's goal is to positively impact children's lives by financially supporting therapies, therapeutic equipment and medical research.
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The Philly Baer Foundation Proudly Supports La Rabida's Rehabilitative Services
The Philly Baer Foundation is pleased and proud to announce our support for La Rabida Children's Hospital through a donation made in March 2025. This funding will go toward the purchase of a Spider Cage and its accompanying accessories, which will significantly enhance children's therapy and motor development.
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La Rabida provides outstanding rehabilitative and developmental services to children, both inpatient and outpatient. Their programs are dedicated to helping children with developmental and physical challenges reach their fullest potential. We are honored to contribute to their mission of making a lasting difference in the lives of these children.
The Philly Baer Foundation's Grant Empowers Children through Conductive Education at The Center for Independence
Beginning in April 2025, The Philly Baer Foundation is excited to support The Center for Independence, which provides at least 6 hours of intensive motor therapy each week—far surpassing the traditional 1-hour therapy sessions. By offering access to these vital therapy services, the Center plays a crucial role in enhancing the overall health, independence, and participation of children with physical disabilities, regardless of their insurance or financial situation.
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The Center’s transdisciplinary team, made up of skilled occupational therapists, physical therapists, and conductive education teachers, delivers tailored treatment in a dynamic environment. Furthermore, the Center maintains strong collaborations with the children’s physicians and public schools. They are dedicated to fostering positive self-direction, boosting self-esteem, and nurturing an empowering “I can!” mindset!
Empowering Children with Complex Needs: The Philly Baer Foundation Supports JCFS Integrated Pediatric Therapies
The Philly Baer Foundation has been proud to support the JCFS Integrated Pediatric Therapies (IPT) program since 2022, providing essential funding to help children with complex developmental needs thrive. The IPT program supports children with complex developmental needs in Cook, Lake, and DuPage Counties. Serving children from infancy through adolescence, IPT provides interdisciplinary interventions to address a wide range of challenges, from mild to profound impairments, including complex medical conditions. Services include home, school, and teletherapy visits, and focus on improving communication, fine motor skills, sensory processing, cognitive/adaptive behavior, and social emotional functioning. IPT’s multi- disciplinary team consists of occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, physical therapists, social workers, and other specialists who work closely with families to develop individualized treatment plans. Additional services include aquatic therapy, feeding and swallowing therapy, parent education, counseling, and case management.
Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley Partnership
The Philly Baer Foundation’s partnership with Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley was born out of a shared mission to support children with disabilities and their families. Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley provides expert pediatric therapy services for infants, children and adults with mild developmental delays, complex disabilities or undiagnosed concerns. Since January 2020, the Philly Baer Foundation has provided funding to assist children with complex medical needs. These gifts increase the number of therapy sessions available to families with Medicaid when they need them most. We ensure additional support for families facing surgeries, medical setbacks or special situations that require extra therapies or in-home services. These therapies are critical to helping children build the strength, stamina and skills they need to thrive.
The Philly Baer Foundation also provided funds to support teletherapy sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Since 2022, the Philly Baer Fund has proudly supported the Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley Feeding Clinic. It offers a unique environment, which brings several disciplines together at one location so that a team can comprehensively evaluate each child. They offer a personalized and compassionate approach to treating challenges related to mealtimes, nutrition, eating and the gastrointestinal system.
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For more information, click here.
The Kids' Equipment Network
The Kids' Equipment Network "connects children with special needs to durable, adaptive equipment that helps them thrive." TKEN used a grant from the Philly Baer Foundation to purchase a high-low Wombat chair for 10 year old Kelsey. Kelsey's mom, Crystal, said that "Kelsey has been diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, seizures, dysphagia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, airway malacia, asthma and developmental and intellectual delays. Despite these hurdles, Kelsey works diligently at school, in therapy, and at home. She is determined to defeat these obstacles that are in her way and succeed. Kelsey is very happy, outgoing and sociable. She enjoys cheerleading, walking in her gait trainer, swinging on her swing, swimming, taking walks in the neighborhood, going to school, participating in therapies and spending time with family and friends." The Wombat chair has allowed her to participate in many new activities and opened up many more possibilities. Special thanks to Anita Shah and Tim Caruso.
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Since 2021, the Philly Baer Foundation has provided unrestricted grants to help TKEN fulfill their mission of giving children with special needs the tools for independence.
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For more information, click here.
Adaptive Equipment
The Philly Baer Foundation purchased adaptive swings in 2019 for the new special needs playground at Maple School in Northbrook, Illinois.
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The all-inclusive playground was completed in 2020. For more information, click here.
Mattis Reil, OT
Kathy Barnard, OT
Sarah Hehir, PT
Daisy Tan, PT
Pathways Partnership
The Philly Baer Foundation partnered with Pathways, a pediatric center in Glenview. The Philly Baer Foundation's vision is to guarantee children with limited resources and/or restricted insurance benefits to receive the therapy services needed to help them reach their full potential.
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The Philly Baer Foundation's donation was also intended for children to attend the Mary Massery respiratory clinic where they will receive an expert evaluation and possible follow-up appointments for breathing techniques while providing the treating therapist with hands on mentoring. Additionally, The Philly Baer Foundation's donation was designated for the purchase of equipment to assist in providing therapy to children.
Philly Baer Fellowship
In 2007, The Philly Baer Foundation and its founders provided a grant to The University of Chicago to support medical research conducted by William B. Dobyns, MD. Dr. Dobyns led a broad-based research program investigating the nature and causes of a wide range of human developmental brain disorders. Between 2008 and 2010, the grant funded The Philly Baer Fellowship, a post-doctoral research position on Dr. Dobyns' research team.
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In September 2019, Neurosciences Research highlighted the findings of Dr. Dobyns's long term research on brain development.
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For more information, click here.
