Climbing for Kids

Climbing for Kids - August 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 more than ever!

In 2021, Children's Hospital Colorado's President and CEO, Jena Hausmann, 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.
  • 40% of teens in our state struggle with mental health challenges and less than 50% of these kids will ever receive ANY form of treatment.
  • We have seen a 103% increase in mental health visits to Children's Colorado emergency department from January to March 2022 compared with the same period in 2019, before the pandemic began.
  • 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.
  • 226k kids and teens in Colorado have diagnosable mental health conditions. Only 22% receive professional care.

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 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!