Who we support
Purpose Harbor is not a single-disease charity. If a childhood illness is severe enough to upend a family's finances, it's within our mission. Below are the major categories we support — and the kinds of costs we typically cover in each.
Leukemias, lymphomas, brain tumors, and solid tumors typically mean 6–36 months of intensive treatment, often at a specialist center far from home. Even with insurance, families face relentless out-of-pocket costs.
About 1 in 100 children is born with a heart defect; the complex cases need staged surgeries in the first years of life. When the right surgical team is in another city or country, the cost of getting there can decide the outcome.
Kidney, liver, and heart failure in children means dialysis or mechanical support, a transplant wait, and months of intensive follow-up. Families often must relocate near a transplant center for the whole journey.
Thousands of rare disorders each affect a handful of families — too few for a dedicated foundation. Diagnosis alone can take years, and treatments (special formulas, enzyme therapies, off-label drugs) are frequently uncovered.
Conditions such as severe epilepsy, spinal muscular atrophy, and acquired brain injury bring years of therapy, equipment, and round-the-clock care that reshape a family's finances.
Severe burns, autoimmune disease, chronic respiratory failure, and other life-altering conditions don't fit neat categories — and neither does our help. If the illness is severe and the costs are real, families can apply.
Categories are a guide, not a gate. If your family is facing a severe childhood illness and the costs that come with it, ask us — the application takes about 20 minutes.