For nearly a century, spanning the Midwest to San Francisco, where Theodore and Sylvia Walker were active philanthropists in the 1900s, the T.B. Walker Foundation has supported a wide range of public works and institutions in education, civic improvement, the arts, the environment, and more.

Its leadership has been looking for a new project to fund and recently chose to name the T.B. Walker Foundation Family Garden at CPMC’s new Van Ness Campus, which opened in March 2019. The garden is on Level 5, and can be viewed from numerous Labor & Delivery rooms and a family lounge.

The timing was perfect. It was very exciting for us to get in on the ground floor, so to speak, of such a wonderful opportunity right in the heart of San Francisco.

Because Sutter Health and CPMC funded the building itself, our philanthropic partners could immediately put their dollars to work in programs, services, research and technology that benefit patients and their families. The Walker Foundation chose Pediatrics.

“We were lucky to have the opportunity to tour the hospital construction site with Dr. Lorry Frankel, the chair of Pediatrics at CPMC,” adds Colleen Marsh, one of the organization’s directors. “He was thrilled when showing us how new innovations in the hospital will serve children and families.”

“In our family, we have spent more than our share of time in hospital settings,” says Adrian Walker, also a director of the Walker Foundation. “It can be a stressful and scary experience. The idea that there is a restful, green garden space in the midst of a big city hospital where families can take a moment and a breath, attracted us immediately.”