Caiden’s Hope Foundation – Financial Assistance for NICU Families

Caiden's Hope Foundation

Caiden’s Hope Foundation is a San Antonio-based nonprofit that helps parents of premature and critically ill babies stay close to their children during a NICU hospitalization. The organization assists families with practical expenses such as transportation, gas, food and temporary lodging, helping reduce some of the financial barriers that can prevent parents from being at their baby's bedside. Its mission is centered on making it possible for NICU parents to personally care for and support their babies during a difficult and uncertain time.

Wayne Keller

Wayne Keller is the Executive Director of Caiden's Hope Foundation who has helped over 3,000 families with babies in neonatal intensive care in every State in the U.S. He stated, 10% of all babies born in the U.S. or about 400,000 babies need neonatal intensive care. Wayne stated how quickly family lives are turned upside down. Parents go from thinking the pregnancy is going to last 9 months to suddenly having their baby at 7 months because the baby decides "we're here".


Wayne stated, if you lived in Idaho, Montana, parts of Nevada & Arizona, you have to go to Utah to get neonatal intensive care. This means families may be separated from their infant by hundreds of miles. The family may not have the ability or afford to go back and forth to visit their infant. Caiden's Hope Foundation helps with food, travel, short term hotels, transportation to name a few. Wayne stated, they try to get 92% of every dollar to go right back out.