MBA Opens Doors Launches Disaster Relief Program for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 23, 2025) – The MBA Opens Doors Foundation (Opens Doors) today launched the MBA Opens Doors Disaster Relief Program, which will provide an additional $100,000 to Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) to support the children and families impacted by the Southern California wildfires.

“The MBA Opens Doors Disaster Relief Program is a new initiative that complements the Foundation’s existing Home Grant Program and will double the amount of housing assistance available to families with a child in treatment at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles who have been impacted by the horrific wildfires in Southern California,” said MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB. “For families navigating the sudden loss of their homes, businesses, or jobs while caring for a sick or injured child, the Disaster Relief Program is a tangible reminder that when crises hit, the real estate finance industry is there to help.”

As one of Opens Doors’ 13 hospital partners, CHLA will have access to the disaster relief funding until the full $100,00 has been exhausted. The special disaster relief funding is in addition to CHLA’s regular monthly grant funding and is intended to provide relief to families whose lives have been upended not just by a medical crisis but also by the historic wildfires affecting Southern California. Families applying for grants from the Disaster Relief Program must provide an impact statement detailing how they have been affected by the LA wildfires and meet Opens Doors Home Grant Program qualifications to be eligible.

“We continue to keep all the people impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles in our thoughts and in our hearts,” said Deborah E. Dubois, President of the MBA Opens Doors Foundation. “The launch of the MBA Opens Doors Disaster Relief Program addresses the unique needs of families caring for critically ill or injured children who have been impacted by a growing number of natural disasters. I am confident that this relief program will serve as a model for future programs at children’s hospitals across the country.”

The MBA Opens Doors Foundation, through its Home Grant Program, provides relief in a time of personal crisis. The Home Grant Program is a critical part of a family's support structure, especially when a parent or guardian must take unpaid leave to be with a child. Grants of up to $2,000 are made monthly to families in need of mortgage or rental payment assistance at one of the Foundation’s 13 network hospitals across the country. The Foundation has provided more than $25 million in mortgage and rental payment assistance to more than 17,000 families since its inception in 2011.

For more information on Opens Doors' mission, please click here.