Mission

The New York Foundling has been saving children, preserving families and building communities since 1869. The Foundling helps children, youth and adults in need through efforts that strengthen families and communities and support each individual in reaching his or her potential. The agency touches the lives of more than 13,000 people each year in the New York City area and in Puerto Rico as it upholds its guiding principle: Abandon No One.

What We Do

Founded in 1869 as a home for abandoned children, The New York Foundling has continuously and conscientiously expanded its scope of programs to meet the changing needs of the communities we serve. The Foundling’s diverse network of programs works interactively to provide care for families with multiple social, economic, medical, and psychological needs. We protect children from abuse and neglect; we help teen mothers and other overstressed parents to meet the challenges of parenthood; we help developmentally disabled people achieve maximum independence; we provide educationally-enriched child care and preschool; and we meet a variety of community needs in neighborhoods struggling with poverty, drugs, and violence.

From the first baby taken out of the cold of the 19th Century October night, to the thousands of children finding safety with loving families 140 years later, The New York Foundling has upheld a commitment to protect society’s most vulnerable children – to “Abandon No One.”

Today, The Foundling’s extensive network of community based services provides havens for children whose safety is at risk, loving foster and group facilities to protect children and support for families to strengthen them.

Our work has been defined by our ability to respond to the changing needs of the most vulnerable among us. The families we serve today have complex needs and The Foundling will continue to evolve to ensure we continue saving children, preserving families and building communities, as we have done for 140 years.