World Pediatric Project (WPP) is thrilled to announce that the TAWANI Foundation has awarded our organization a historic grant of $250,000, including a matching grant up to $20,000, which will support our Global Orthopedic Initiative and Referrals Program. The program will be further bolstered by support from OrthoPediatrics, which, for the sixth consecutive year, has chosen WPP as the beneficiary of their annual employee giving campaign. Since 2011, OrthoPediatrics has also supported WPP programs through the donation of vital implants and instrumentation for our orthopedic surgical teams.

The TAWANI Foundation’s grant directs vital funds toward orthopedic surgical and diagnostic teams, in addition to sponsoring patients needing complex care at one of our U.S. or regional partner hospitals. These funds will enable WPP to help close major gaps in access to care, ensuring children the services they need more quickly and, when possible, in their own communities. Combined with OrthoPediatric’s vital partnership, the targeted funding will enable WPP to address the unprecedented backlog of children in need of time-sensitive care, and further our mission to develop sustainable health care solutions in the regions we serve for years to come.

“The combined support of both TAWANI Foundation and OrthoPediatrics is incredibly powerful, allowing us to reach more children in less time, alleviating suffering and getting kids back to business of being kids,” said Kate Corbett, WPP Senior Program Director.

Across the Caribbean and Latin America, millions of children lack access to advanced care needed to treat a variety of orthopedic conditions, which, without intervention, can lead to permanent physical impairment, chronic pain, social marginalization, and even death. Common conditions include scoliosis, Blount’s Disease, leg length discrepancies, club feet, other congenital birth defects, and injuries resulting from trauma. Often, orthopedic care is time-sensitive and delays in treatment can have dire consequences – irreparable muscle and nerve damage, permanent impairment to mobility, and missed windows for successful surgical intervention. 

The TAWANI Foundation, whose name was inspired by the children of its founder, COL (IL) Jennifer N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (Retired), aims to award grants in service of building a broader world of good. Announced in September, 2022, their recent grant to WPP follows a first, which was awarded in 2019. Their matching gift will encourage WPP to broaden its base of support by securing new donations for the programs funded by the TAWANI grant, helping ensure long-term financial sustainability. “We are proud to support World Pediatric Project and their partnership of dedicated volunteer medical professionals. Their life-altering work in correcting severe deformities and congenital defects in children is priceless,” said Col. Pritzker.

OrthoPediatrics, which was the first company to focus solely on pediatric products and solutions in orthopedics, markets surgical systems that serve trauma and deformity correction, scoliosis, and sports medicine. Their support of WPP has impacted hundreds of children who have little access to orthopedic surgery in their home countries. 

“Our relationship with WPP is something we are all proud of as it represents our combined cause of helping children all over the world,” said Mallory Trusty, Vice President of OrthoPediatrics Experience. “The fact that all of our associates contribute to this organization is a testament to our culture and the generosity of spirit of our team. We look forward to many more years of impacting the lives of kids through our work with WPP!”

Commitment within the TAWANI Foundation and OrthoPediatrics to children who lack access to specialty care aligns with WPP’s mission to heal children and advance pediatric healthcare in the world, and we are grateful and appreciative of their generous support.