Natalie Howe Boyle jokes that she "accidently founded a non-profit."
The founder and CEO of Mommies in Need was just out of cancer treatment herself in 2014, when she started to help a friend who was going through colon cancer.
Her friend, a mother of a two-year old and a four-year old, was facing chemotherapy, and wasn't sure how she'd care for her kids during the treatments.
Natalie stepped in and led a crowdfunding effort to help her friend pay for the needed childcare. The idea for Mommies in Need was born, and by 2015 it was officially up and running.
Years later, the organization supports local families by providing safe, loving childcare from expert staff so family members can access the medical care they need.
Some of that childcare is provided in the home.
And some of it is through operating Annie's Place, a child care center near the Parkland Hospital campus.
Surprisingly, Mommies in Need is the only non-profit of its kind operating in the United States.
"It kind of catches my breath every once in a while...'how has it grown this fast?'" Boyle says.
"I think the answer is because we found a problem that nobody was really addressing."
Since its inception, the organization has provided more than 30,000 hours of free childcare to families going through a health crisis through in-home care, virtual visits, and at Annie's Place.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow NewsRadio 1080 KRLD
