The funds support pediatric primary care and dental care for children with special healthcare needs in Broward County

When Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center’s (CDTC) signature fundraiser, the Waterway Soirée, was cancelled due to the pandemic, the non-profit organization’s newest board member Captain Lee Rosbach, star of Bravo’s hit series Below Deck, stepped up to the helm.

The Captain’s Crew, which came together for CDTC’s first-ever virtual fundraising campaign, was a tremendous success. Thirty-two dedicated CDTC friends and community leaders signed up to join Captain Lee’s crew, raising more than $91,000, far above the campaign’s initial goal of $15,000.

Dr. Ana Calderon-Randazzo, executive director Children's Diagnostic & Treatment Center, Captain Lee Rosbach and Jessica Vones, director of development Children's Diagnostic & Treatment Center

All funds will help children with special healthcare needs by underwriting CDTC’s comprehensive services pediatric primary and dental care services for more than 125 children who live in Broward County for an entire year.

“I am extremely proud of our community for coming together to generously support the Captain’s Crew during this difficult time,” said Rosbach. “These children have unique and complicated medical needs and their families were living below the poverty level even before the pandemic. We’re working to ensure these hardships do not prevent these kids from receiving much-needed medical care so we can keep families healthy and happy.”

The public was invited to join the Captain’s Crew in June and, upon pledging their support, received a personal thank you from Captain Lee. Supporters who raised $1,300 (which will support two children for one year) or more receive an exclusive invitation to join the renowned local celebrity at a private reception and celebration generously sponsored by another CDTC Board Member Bill Walker and Water Taxi of Fort Lauderdale later this year.

“We are so grateful for Captain Lee’s generous support. He lent his name and his voice to help support our mission during this intensely trying time,” said Jessica Vones, Director of Development for CDTC. “The shutdown and subsequent social distancing due to the pandemic left a huge gap in our annual fundraising efforts this year, resulting in a loss for us of nearly $250,000. Despite this loss, we are grateful for the amazing outpouring of generosity and incredibly thankful to everyone who joined our crew.”

About CDTC

Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center (CDTC) is a not-for-profit that serves more than 12,000 clients with special healthcare needs in Broward County annually. As a facility of Broward Health, CDTC’s mission is to promote the optimal health and well-being of children with special healthcare needs by providing comprehensive prevention, intervention and treatment services. CDTC was awarded Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) offering a unique system of care for infants, children, youth and women with chronic illnesses, disabilities and developmental delays. For more information, visit ChildrensDiagnostic.org.