Our History

The first Baby Clinic is established at The King's Daughters headquarters on Duke Street.

A Maternity Service begins with a doctor and nurse dispatched to the homes of mothers in labor.

After working out of various locations in downtown Norfolk, The King's Daughters purchase the residence at 300 W. York Street for NCUKD headquarters.

A prominent Norfolk man, after showing his gambling winnings to his wife, a King’s Daughter, is quickly relieved of his ill-gotten $500 in cash. His wife proclaims, “You know I don’t approve, but since you can’t give it back, you can give it to The King’s Daughters.” Thus, the Visiting Service gets its first car, an upgrade from the nurses’ bicycles.

The first King's Daughters Health Station opens in South Norfolk. Eventually, more than a dozen Health Stations are located in schools and churches throughout residential sections. The Health Station workers teach families proper childcare and sanitation practices and administer vaccines to children.

A third floor is added to headquarters on York Street, and in 1929, the adjoining property is donated to accommodate the next expansion.

The King's Daughters' nurses make 41,301 visits this year.

The Maternity Center opens, served by eight obstetricians and medical students from the University of Virginia. There are 605 patients registered this year.

An X-ray machine is donated by two medical staff members.

In spite of war shortages, strikes, and delays in materials, the wards at the clinic are completely modernized and expanded.

The King's Daughters begin planning to establish a children's hospital. A fund is established to aid in the financing of construction.

Circle members register more than 2,000 volunteer hours in the Clinic and Health Stations.

The King's Daughters Children's Hospital, the first hospital in Virginia dedicated to children, opens in April.

Circles hold their first annual Holly Ball with proceeds to benefit the hospital. The Pediatric Residency program is established.

Circle members register more than 10,000 volunteer hours and The King's Daughters Puppet is created. Members spend thousands of hours in mass production so every child can receive one of these puppets when entering the hospital.

The Visiting Nurse Service is phased out. A pharmacy opens in the hospital.

The name of the hospital is changed to Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters to reflect the focus on pediatrics.

CHKD establishes a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and transport to bring high-risk newborns from hospitals in surrounding cities.

The King's Daughters set out to raise $6.5 million toward the $14 million needed to expand Children's Hospital.

The expanded Children's Hospital is dedicated and has 101,000 square feet of new space and 39,000 square feet in renovated space. It boasts specialized labs and diagnostic clinics and many new services for children.

The first Holly Festival of Trees is held at The Cavalier on the Hill in Virginia Beach. The 21st Annual Holly Ball is held. The two events raise $150,000 for Children's Hospital.

Members of NCUKD create Children's Health System through corporate reorganization.

The CHKD Surgery Center opens, thus ending the long dependence on Norfolk General Hospital for operating room services.

NCUKD opens the first CHKD Thrift Store with the motto: "Everything we sell helps make another child well."

Ground is broken on the latest hospital expansion. NCUKD announces the lead pledge of $2 million to the $10 million building fund.

CHKD and Eastern Virginia Medical School jointly establish the Center for Pediatric Research.

With 11 CHKD Thrift Stores, several major fundraising projects, and scores of Circle projects, NCUKD contributes $900,000 to the hospital, more than the combined budgets of the first 22 years of its history.

The dedication and opening of the expanded hospital takes place. The new state-of-the-art facility has expanded outpatient offerings and the region's first pediatric emergency center.

Norfolk City Union of The King's Daughters celebrates 100 years of service to the children of the region.

NCUKD raises enough money to purchase a state-of-the-art mobile transport unit for CHKD.

Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters celebrates its 40th birthday!

The King’s Daughters designate Major Project funds totaling $133,000 to purchase an Aquatic Therapy Pool at CHKD’s Oyster Point location.

Major Project funds totaling $144,000 are designated to purchase Giraffe Omnibeds for CHKD’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). CHKD opens a new Health Center at Oyster Point in Newport News, Virginia.

Major Project funds totaling $158,000 are designated toward the Child Abuse Center and Nursing Externship Endowment funds. This completes NCUKD’s 5-year commitment of $1,000,000.

Tour de Cuisine is now an annual event and one of The King’s Daughters’ Major Projects. The tour is held in the Edgewater neighborhood of Norfolk and raises $35,000.

The King’s Daughters donate $850,000 to CHKD. RunWalk for the Kids becomes an annual event with over 800 participants and raises a total of $50,000. The 25th Annual Holly Festival of Trees is held at the Portsmouth Renaissance Hotel.

The King’s Daughters donate $850,000 to CHKD. RunWalk for the Kids becomes an annual event with over 800 participants and raises a total of $50,000. The 25th Annual Holly Festival of Trees is held at the Portsmouth Renaissance Hotel.

The King’s Daughters pledge $250,000 to the new CHKD Virginia Beach Health and Surgery Center.

The KD Facebook page reaches over 4,300 people online.

The King’s Daughters pledge $150,000 toward the purchase of an Aquatic Therapy Pool for CHKD’s newest location, the Chesapeake Health Center at Oakbrooke.

The 7th Annual RunWalk for the Kids held at Town Point Park raises $104,000 and has nearly 3,000 participants. The King’s Daughters hold the 50th and final Holly Ball and the 30th and final Holly Festival of Trees. The combined income from these two Major Projects raises $196,000 in support of CHKD’s Cardiac Care Program and PICU.

The King’s Daughters introduce a new holiday tradition, Moonlight and Mistletoe, which raises $120,000 toward the $500,000 pledge to establish The King’s Daughters Milk Bank. Breakfast with Santa becomes a stand-alone event raising $7,000 in its inaugural year. The Dr. Donald Lewis Award is established.

The King’s Daughters Milk Bank opens with an impressive 198,568 ounces of milk donated. $600,000 is donated to CHKD from Circle projects, canister proceeds and the four Major Projects.

The 10th Annual RunWalk for the Kids is held at Town Point Park. The tagline of “Raising Funds, Friends, and Awareness for CHKD” is adopted. The last Tour de Cuisine is held in East Beach.

The King’s Daughters donate $575,000 to CHKD with the majority of the gift designated toward the purchase of a new intensive care transport vehicle.

The 12th Annual RunWalk for the Kids is held at the new Waterside District on the Norfolk waterfront. The King’s Daughters donate $625,000 to CHKD with $250,000 going to support the Sports Medicine Program, $87,000 to complete our pledge for the new transport, and $89,000 to The KD Milk Bank. For the first time, membership is given the opportunity to select our fundraising focus and votes to support the Behavioral Health initiative with a $1 millionpledge.

Having donated $600,000 to CHKD in 2019 (of which $500,000 went to complete the $1 million mental health pledge), The King’s Daughters commits to raise within five years an additional $2 million for a total of $3 million toward CHKD’s Mental Health Program.

The King’s Daughters celebrated 125 years of service to the children of our community. The 1896 Society was established to help fund new initiatives and new equipment for CHKD through individual donations.

The King’s Daughters bounces back after COVID-19, and has now paid three quarters of the $2 million pledge to Children’s Pavilion, CHKD’s new mental health hospital; thanks to the creative hard work of The King’s Daughters.