About the 2221 Society

Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation’s 2221 Society was formed in 2018 by like-minded leaders who are dedicated to transforming children’s health and supporting the Foundation’s mission. The 2221 Society name honors the first major transformation of Children’s Hospital Colorado, when a group of nurses providing care in tents at City Park moved the operation into a house at 2221 Downing Street in 1909.

The 2221 Society contributes philanthropic funding to Children’s Colorado to support important initiatives like cutting-edge research, treatment, therapy, education and advocacy. In partnership with Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation, the 2221 Society works to identify and fund projects that need significant philanthropic support and will advance pediatric medicine and care.

The 2221 Society operates under a d/b/a within Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation, a 501(c)(3), but has autonomy to fund the projects of its choice. Donations to the 2221 Society will support the Foundation and are tax-deductible. To date, the 2221 Society has raised more than $1.75 million for Children’s Colorado.

Commitment levels of 2221 Society

In addition to setting goals, attending meetings, serving as a Children’s Colorado ambassador, recruiting new members and executing events, 2221 Society members are asked to make a personal financial commitment on an annual basis to positively impact Children’s Colorado’s mission. Membership is available at the following levels:

Founder’s level – members give or fundraise $25,000 annually (3-year commitment)
President’s level – members give or fundraise $10,000 annually (3-year commitment)
Friends of 2221 – members give or fundraise $2,221+ annually

In order to make an impactful difference at Children’s Colorado, the 2221 Society sets ambitious goals every year so that the group can truly move the needle and make transformational change for the hospital and its system of care. Members’ passion for Children’s Colorado shines through their financial commitments and their contagious, shared belief that a child’s life can and should be filled with limitless possibilities.

2023 Focus: Advance precision medicine genetic testing capabilities

Fundraising Goal: $550,000

A genetic test can be a critical tool in helping a child battling disease. For patients and families, genetic tests can enable diagnosis, reduce treatment time, and alleviate the worry that accompanies the unknown. Consider one patient, who came to Children’s Colorado with a highly malignant glioma. After sequencing his tumor, his physician identified a genetic rarity: a fusion involving his NTRK gene. He was immediately enrolled in a trial for a TRK inhibitor. His tumor has responded exceptionally well. Or consider the child with an acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Because of testing, her care team detected a fusion that completely altered her planned treatment course, avoiding unnecessary and potentially ineffective treatment options.

Genetic tests are also the foundation for future advances in precision medicine. Many patients are diagnosed with conditions that were previously unknown, while the rich data sets gathered from within their genomes enable the discovery of novel treatments. With every test, we learn more and expand available information. We can direct children toward the right clinical trials, and in some cases, launch new ones. We can better understand, treat and cure rare genetic disorders.

How we’ll get there

Currently, Children’s Colorado only has one sequencing machine, called NovaSeq. Twice per week, all outstanding genetic tests are run through this machine, because analyzing multiple tests together achieves significant savings for patients and the hospital. For most children, this is an appropriate timeline. However, some kids’ lives depend on rapid results. Take, for example, the newborn suffering from unrelenting seizures. For him, and acutely sick children like him, the quick turnaround of a genetic test could mean the difference between life and death, or the prevention of future life-altering complications. Fundraising by the 2221 Society will allow Children’s Colorado to purchase additional sequencing machines. Through a critical industry partnership, we will also be able to process data using a cloud-based system that will triple our testing capacity and enhance our ability to develop novel diagnoses and treatment options. Processing time for patients in critical need would be cut in half – from 24 hours to 10 to 12 hours – helping guide treatment plans for the most critically ill children.

2221 Society members

Sadie Shaughnessy, Chair
Alex Schomers, Advisory Chair
Melissa Leuck Miller, Designation Selection Committee Chair
Izzy Murdy, Membership Chair
Sachi Osatinski, Events Chair
Austin Akers, Vice Chair