Founded in 1996 in Round Rock, Texas, the Dell Children’s Circle of Friends is a board-supported organization of the Children’s Medical Center Foundation of Central Texas. As a community volunteer support group, our mission is to raise awareness and funds for Dell Children’s Medical Center here in Austin.
The Northwest Austin Chapter began in 1997, and has raised over $1 million. To date, the Circle of Friends chapters have raised over $3 million. Dell Children’s serves 46 counties throughout Texas. This state-of-the-art facility provides exceptional care to thousands of children and their families regardless of their ability to pay.
Since 2008, all net funds raised from the Cheers event have benefited The Texas Child Study Center (TCSC) Endowment. The TCSC is a collaboration between the University of Texas at Austin Educational Psychology Department and Dell Children’s Medical Center. It was established in 2008 through philanthropic support to help meet the mental health needs of the youth of Central Texas. The TCSC has grown to include a residency training program for future pediatric psychologists and psychiatrists, embedded clinics within all of the major programs at Dell Children’s including the Blood and Cancer Center, Emergency Department, the Obesity Program, and Intensive Care. TCSC is nearing 800 outpatient visits a month and many of these patients are economically disadvantaged. Since 2008, The Texas Child Study Center has done much for the mental health of the youth in the Austin community but more is planned and can be accomplished through your support.