our IMPACT

100% of donations raised during Tag Days are allocated to programs serving children of the Washtenaw County community. Just of a few of the many programs that we helped to fund in the past few years include:

Birthday Smiles for Kids

• Some families cannot afford the luxury of birthday gifts or cake when they are worried about basic shelter and food needs. Birthday Smiles for Kids works with agencies and schools in Washtenaw County to identify families in need and ensure that every child gets to feel special on their birthday. They provide birthday celebrations, gifts, and goody bags, that are personalized for each child. Tag Days donations have helped to fund many birthday smiles!

Children’s Literacy Network: 

• • Provides books to children who typically have difficulty accessing books and reading, supporting a love of reading and literacy development. Tag Days donations helped provide several books for many of their programs, including End of School Year Giveaway, Summer Bridge Program, Neighborhood Visits with Bookmobile, and Big Dreams Booklet Books for Hamilton Crossing Red-Wagon program.

C.S. Mott Children's Hospital Child & Family Life:

• • These services enhance the physical/psychological well-being and coping abilities of kids/adolescents and their families throughout healthcare experiences. Tag Days funds helped provide a year of monthly parent luncheons for families of children in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), as well as art supplies for children.

Ele's Place Ann Arbor

• Ele's Place is a non-profit, community-based organization dedicated to creating awareness of and support for grieving children, teens, and their families. The peer grief support programs Ele's Place provides are free of charge, for as long as a family needs. Tag Days donations last year helped to fund a weekly on-site peer grief support group in 2024.

Girls Group

• The mission of Girls Group is to empower young women to achieve emotional and economic self-sufficiency by ensuring they graduate from high school and begin their college or career journeys. Tag Days donations helped to fund trips 6th-12th graders to tour college campuses, participate in in learning sessions and recreation activities, and more. 

Hands Across the Water

• Provides holistic services to strengthen families including parent education/prevention programs, foster care, adoption, pregnancy counseling and behavioral health programs. Tag Days funds helped support the revitalization of their Outdoor Visitation Space. 

Hemophilia Foundation of Michigan:

• • Strives to improve quality of life of kids affected by hemophilia, von Willebrand's disease, and other coagulation disorders. Tag Days donations help fund their various summer camps for kids and their families, to help educate and empower children and young adults to live a life of freedom and independence.

Michigan Foster Care Closet

• Serves children in care, youth in transition, foster families, and the community, by providing quality items for daily living for children who are in foster care. Tag Days donations have helped to fund provision of new car seats, booster seats, and specialty strollers for families with multiple children and/or those needing to transport children with medical devices, gear, or equipment.

Pediatric NeuroRehabilitation Program:

• • Provides interdisciplinary rehab for kids who have had significant injury to or disease of the brain or spinal cord. This includes augmentative communication evaluation, device selection, and treatment for those without functional speech production. We donated funds to support therapeutic horseback riding for these kids.

Reach out and Read at University of Michigan

• Reach Out and Rea (ROR) is a national, evidence-based program that makes early childhood literacy a standard part of pediatric well child checks. As a part of this program, Michigan Medicine pediatric providers share free books with patients and their families at every well child visit from 0-5 years of age.  Physicians build on their trusting relationships with families to inform caregivers of the critical role reading aloud plays in brain development and language acquisition. Tag Days donations have funded the purchase of books that are diverse in content and language to provide to children in our community.

Washtenaw Area Council For Children:

• Promotes child well-being, and prevents child maltreatment, neglect, and abuse through educational services and programs for children, parents, community members, and youth-serving professionals in Washtenaw County. Tag Days has helped to fund Body Safety Trainings, that teach children critical and evidence based body safety techniques that prevent child sexual abuse.

Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad:

• Enhances the quality of science education, increases student interest and recognizes outstanding achievement in STEM activities. Tag Days donations have helped sponsor the olympiad over the past years! 

Ypsilanti Youth Orchestra

• The Ypsilanti Youth Orchestra (YYO) provides K-12 students the opportunity to learn music in an atmosphere of creation, motivation, cooperation, and friendship while developing team-building and communication skills in a safe, supportive setting. The YYO serves students of diverse backgrounds and all socioeconomic statuses by remaining tuition-free. Tag Days donations have helped to fund contiuation of enrichment classes for students of the YYO. 

Galens Medical Society supports the children of Washtenaw County by funding programs that address their needs through social programs, extra-curricular opportunities, or other initiatives. We particularly look to fund proposals that improve the lives of children who are underserved, at-risk, hospitalized, or diagnosed with a chronic medical or mental health condition.

Interested in applying for funds?

Email our Financial Allocations Committee: GalensFinancialAllocations@umich.edu