The Wade and Martin Families

On her wedding day in November 2023, Kylie Martin stole a peek of her soon-to-be husband, James, behind the sanctuary closed doors that opened to the aisle. 

For the couple, that moment of anticipation before the bridal walk to the altar – as they waited to meet one another – is a lasting memory from the ceremonious big day. 

The wedding and reception that followed included many of the traditional rituals – exchange of gold rings; loving first kiss; joyful first dance; and a towering white cake. 

But what the day didn’t include was a stack of paper-wrapped presents and giftbags. 

Feeling like they’d already dedicated enough funds to a wedding, Kylie and James opted out of a registry, establishing instead the Kylie and James Martin Endowment Fund at Children’s Health –  or guests to celebrate their special occasion by supporting their local pediatric hospital in lieu of wedding gifts. 

“Children’s Health is near and dear to our hearts, and we are glad that we could help in this way. I know it’s a little unorthodox, but we were excited about this opportunity to help these kids,” James said. 

Unrestricted philanthropic support is the gasoline in the tank for Children’s Health, allowing the hospital system to enhance critical programs, invest in new initiatives and remain nimble to respond to unanticipated demands. As the largest pediatric health care provider in North Texas, these general use funds are crucial for us to make life better for children. 

“Walking around the hospital, you see all kinds of kids and all types of circumstances that they’re battling against. Knowing that, we felt it was best for the funds to be allocated across many different service lines and trusted the hospital with the flexibility to decide where was best,” James said.

For Kylie, her family has invested decades of trust in the clinical team members at Children’s Health. Kylie had just celebrated her second birthday when her older sister, Kaitlyn, was diagnosed at age 3 with leukemia. 

Many of Kylie’s formative years were spent at the hospital, checking her sister’s heartbeat with a play stethoscope in her hospital bed and listening to her dad tell stories in a colorful room with airplanes on the ceiling. 

As a high school student, she volunteered at another local hospital. And for the last year, she’s volunteered at Children’s Health on weekday nights, wheeling the comfort cart stocked with essential supplies such as shampoo and toothbrushes to patient rooms. 

“I saw how my sister had these multiple experiences at hospitals and how well she was cared for, along with the rest of my family through important services such as Child Life. And because of this, I felt strongly about supporting Children’s Health,” Kylie said. “I simply trust the hospital and the people managing the endowment fund to put the donations where they are needed most. And that trust comes from seeing the care that was provided to my sister.” 

Kylie and James’ inspiration for the endowment came from Kylie’s parents, who established the Kaitlyn Pearce Wade Endowment Fund to support the Pauline Allen Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children's Health, after Kaitlyn’s cancer treatment. 

“When you bring your daughter to the hospital, you want to know that it has all the resources needed to care for her,” said Kay Wade, Kylie’s mom. “As a parent, you’re helpless when your child is sick. You pray that wherever you take them is the place where they’re going to get the help they need to get better.”

As a young married couple, Kylie and James understand the growth underway in North Texas. The pediatric population in the Dallas-Fort Worth region is almost 2.5 million and is expected to double by 2050. This means, the health needs of children are continually growing and changing. 

The Kylie and James Martin Endowment Fund also will grow over time. And as it expands, it will help generate resources that allow Children’s Health to adapt and sustain its ability to care for these children every day.  

“As we get older, there will be continued life events that we can celebrate by donating to our endowment. This is an investment in the future that will grow over time,” Kylie said.