Texas Children's Hospital
Volunteer Services
6621 Fannin Street – MC1-3260
Houston TX 77030

Volunteer Services Telephone: 832-824-2257

We are available to serve your family every Monday & Wednesday from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm. We are located in the conference room across from The Milk Bank on the 4th floor of the West Tower at TCH.

If you are a current TCH NICU or CVICU family who would like us to serve you, please contact us with the above form. Please mention your baby's name and bed number in the comment box. We will then arrange to meet you bedside during the following service day.

If you would like to share how our service has touched your family, please contact us with the form above. Names and medical conditions are never disclosed.

Even for the families who will eventually take home healthy children, they are grieving the loss of the ideal birth and “firsts” that many take for granted with a healthy baby. Some parents are reluctant to have their baby photographed with IV’s, breathing devices, excessive swelling or apparent physical abnormalities.

Our goal is to encourage these families to celebrate the uniqueness of each child and to take photographs of the child and also include family members who are present. We believe that every child’s life should be honored and remembered. We also encourage them to write about the baby’s birth, their dreams for their child and special moments they want to remember.

Informally, these families share their stories with each other and find comfort from meeting someone else who understands the stress, uncertainty and fear they are experiencing due to the health of their newborn. In our conference room, they feel the freedom to speak above a whisper, smile, share stories with other families and linger over the process of creating a beautiful keepsake for their child.

For many, being in our 'scrapbooking room' is the least stressful part of their day. We have found that fathers are especially eager to let down their guard and be creative. Often they feel helpless because they cannot heal their child, so this time allows them to make a special card for the baby’s mom or themselves. Each week, we are privileged to be a part of bringing hope and healing to these families in crisis and we have been blessed ourselves.