Climbing for Kids, August 16, 2024

Climbing for Kids is one of Colorado's most anticipated summer family events. The charity 14'er mountain climb benefits Children's Hospital Colorado, supporting Colorado children with mental health challenges. Your engagement and commitment to support youth mental health is needed now more than ever!

Climbing for Kids has spent years fundraising for Children's Colorado's pediatric mental health institute, and this year if they raise over $50,000 they will hit one million dollars in lifetime fundraising! Join in for The Million Dollar Climb this year!

Children's Hospital Colorado's President and CEO, Jena Hausmann has declared a "State of Emergency" for pediatric mental health in Colorado.

• Suicide is a leading cause of death among Colorado youth ages 10-24 years old.
• Out of the 226,000 kids and teens in Colorado who have diagnosable mental health conditions, only 22% of them will receive professional care.
• 215% increase in adolescent suicide attempts from 2020-2021. Self-harm or suicide attempts are among the top reasons that patients seek mental health care in our emergency departments.
• More than a quarter of Colorado high school students don’t have an adult they can go to with help for serious problems.
• 44% of American teens report feeling persistently sad or hopeless.
• 50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age of 14 and 75% by age 24

The statistics are staggering, and the problem is simply too large and too complicated for any one institution to tackle alone. Our hope in making this bold statement is to bring greater attention and resources to bear as we seek to make progress in solving the current mental health crisis in Colorado and across the region.

Children's Hospital Colorado is fortunate to have many trusted partners in the community, including donors and supporters like the Climbing for Kids participants who have contributed to our Pediatric Mental Health Institute and other mental health initiatives. With this call to action, we invite others to join us in helping the children and youth who need us!

Climbing for Kids aims to drive awareness and financial support for the care of children and families who require early prevention, ongoing therapy, and access to the medical professionals who can make a difference for kids who need it most...for the kids who have a much larger mountain to climb.

Whether you've climbed a 14'er before or not, there's a way to help the cause.

Join us!