130 YEARS | THE KING’S DAUGHTERS

The opening of The King’s Daughters Milk Bank at CHKD in 2014 marked a full-circle moment for the Norfolk-based nonprofit. In its early days, the organization’s first director, nurse Edith Nason, logged thousands of miles on foot and bicycle delivering milk and vital assistance to the area’s less fortunate families.

Much has changed since 1896, when the infant mortality rate was in the double digits, but modern-day parents still face daunting challenges caring for their children. Through it all, The King’s Daughters has been a constant, serving a “very vital role” in the region’s healthcare, says Lisa Coleman, its executive director.

Ever since its beginnings, The King’s Daughters has sought to anticipate how to best serve the needs of families in the greater Norfolk area — first by conducting home visits, then by opening clinics. “As time went on, it became more evident that an actual hospital was needed,” Coleman says.

So, the organization spent years raising funds to help finance the construction of Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, which opened in 1961 and remains the state’s only freestanding children’s hospital. Looking ahead, Coleman says, the organization will continue to work with CHKD to anticipate needs that are ever-changing and further its mission to raise funds, friends, and awareness to benefit the hospital.

Operating as a separate entity from CHKD, the nonprofit King’s Daughters runs intentionally lean with a staff of only four who support its 700 members. Through dozens of fundraising events — like its annual RunWalk for the Kids in August and Moonlight Gala in December — the organization raises about $750,000 each year for CHKD.

As with the milk bank, the other major projects that The King’s Daughters has funded offer important reminders of how vital it is to support a health system that handles 650,000-plus patient visits each year. And that also makes the work incredibly rewarding.

“It’s fascinating how many people you met who have been touched by CHKD or The King’s Daughters,” Coleman says.

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