Our Impact

The KDF has achieved remarkable milestones, including the establishment of the annual KD Parent Symposium, the successful designation of January 26th as National KD Awareness Day by Congress, and supporting the creation of the KD Biorepository at the KD Research Center through a $100,000 donation from KDF.

These initiatives have fulfilled our mission to support families affected by the disease by providing ongoing education on KD and access to KD experts for questions. Our impactful social media campaigns have annually reached thousands of users, contributing to nationwide and worldwide awareness. Furthermore, our funding of the KD DNA bank has significantly advanced KD research, with the samples being utilized in various research endeavors.

While we will not rest until we know the cause and the long-term outcome of all kids who have contracted KD, we take pride in our accomplishments over the past years.

October 2000
- First Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – Boston, MA
December 2000
- Kawasaki Disease Foundation Founded – Boston, MA
- KDF Bridges program launched – Boston, MA

December 4-7, 2001
- KDF delegates attend and present at the 7th International Kawasaki Disease Symposium – Hakone, Japan

March 2002
- First virtual event – a free telephone conference call led by Dr. Jane Burns – Nationwide
July 2, 2002
- KDF donates $2,000 to the University of California San Diego for KD Research – San Diego, CA
August 6, 2002
- Second Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – Washington, DC

March 29, 2003
- Third Kawasaki Disease Parents’ Education Symposium in collaboration with St. Louis University School of Medicine – St Louis, MO
November 15, 2003
- Fourth KD Parent Symposium in collaboration with University of California San Diego, KD Research Center – San Diego, CA

February 17-20, 2005
- KDF co-sponsors the 8th International Kawasaki Disease Symposium – San Diego, CA
July 1, 2005
- KDF donates $25,000 to the University of California San Diego for KD Research – San Diego, CA
October 29-30, 2005
- KDF participates in the 3rd National Conference of Rheumatology Chapter of Indian Academy of Pediatrics – Chandigarh, India

March 1, 2007
- KDF donates $5,000 to PGIMER Hospital to facilitate the provision of Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg) Therapy to Children with KD – Chandigarh, India
July 17, 2007
- KDF delegates attend and present during the Global Webcast on KD – Worldwide

April 10-12, 2008
- KDF delegates attend and present at the 9th International Kawasaki Disease Symposium – Taipei, Taiwan

November 2009
- Kawasaki Disease Foundation launches the Annual KD Parent Symposium Sponsorship Program
- First Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego
- First Kawasaki Disease Foundation Gala “To Save A Child’s Heart” – San Diego, CA

September 25, 2010
- Second Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego
- Second Kawasaki Disease Foundation Gala “To Save A Child’s Heart” – San Diego, CA

January 26, 2011
- KDF presented a resolution to the 111th Congress, 2nd Session, requesting the designation of January 26th as “National KD Awareness Day.” The Senate has designated January 26th as National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day.
October 22, 2011
- Third Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego
- Third Kawasaki Disease Foundation Gala “To Save A Child’s Heart” – San Diego, CA

January 26, 2012
- Second National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day – Nationwide
February 7-10, 2012
- KDF delegates attend and present at the 10th International Kawasaki Disease Symposium – Kyoto, Japan
August 25, 2012
- First Bay Area KD Parent Symposium – San Jose, CA
November 17, 2012
- Fourth Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego
- Fourth Kawasaki Disease Foundation Gala “To Save A Child’s Heart” – Carlsbad, CA

January 26, 2013
- Third National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day – Nationwide
October 21, 2013
- KDF donates $100,000 to the University of California San Diego for KD Research – San Diego, CA
November 9, 2013
- Fifth Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego
- Fifth Kawasaki Disease Foundation Gala “To Save A Child’s Heart” – San Diego, CA

January 26, 2014
- Fourth National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day – Nationwide
February 2014
- Kawasaki Disease Fund (Nonprofit Organization Founded in 2005) merges with the Kawasaki Disease Foundation – Nationwide
March 10, 2014
- KDF donates $250,000 to the University of California San Diego for KD Research – San Diego, CA
November 8, 2014
- Sixth Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego
- First Live Event Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium via YouTube – UC San Diego
- Sixth Kawasaki Disease Foundation Gala “To Save A Child’s Heart” – San Diego, CA

January 26, 2015
- Fifth National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day – Nationwide
- Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day at the California State Capitol – Sacramento, CA
February 3-6, 2015
- KDF delegates attend and present at the 11th International Kawasaki Disease Symposium – Honolulu, Hawaii
Summer 2015
- KDF Board Members (Kate Davila, Catherine Frank & Vanessa Gutierrez) participate in the KD Stakeholder Advisory Board of the patient centered SCAlable National Network for Effectiveness Research, a stakeholder-driven comparative effectiveness study of treatments to prevent coronary artery damage in patients with resistant KD.
July 5, 2015
- KDF donates $75,000 to the University of California San Diego for KD Research – San Diego, CA
November 14, 2015
- Seventh Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego

January 26, 2016
- Sixth National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day – Nationwide
October 22, 2016
- Seventh Kawasaki Disease Foundation Gala “To Save A Child’s Heart” – San Diego, CA
October 29, 2016
- Eight Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego
- Second Live Event Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium via Facebook – UC San Diego

January 26, 2017
- Seventh National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day – Nationwide
January 1-26, 2017
- KDF launches First Annual National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day online campaign: “More than Words” – Nationwide
March 31, 2017
- KDF donates $25,000 to the University of California San Diego for KD Research – San Diego, CA
September 9, 2017
- Ninth Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego
- Third Live Event Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium via Facebook – UC San Diego
October 30, 2017
- First Facebook Live “Ask the KD Experts” Q&A in Spanish with Dr. Adriana Tremoulet from UC San Diego – Worldwide

January 26, 2018
- Eight National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day – Nationwide
January 1-26, 2018
- Second Annual National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day online campaign: “Heart on Your Sleeve for KD” – Nationwide
June 12-15, 2018
- KDF delegates attend and present at the 12th International Kawasaki Disease Symposium – Yokohama, Japan
September 8, 2018
- Eighth Kawasaki Disease Foundation Gala “To Save A Child’s Heart” – Richmond, VA
September 29, 2018
- Tenth Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego
- Fourth Live Event Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium via Facebook – UC San Diego
October 11, 2018
- KDF donates $25,000 to the University of California San Diego for KD Research – San Diego, CA
November 3-4, 2018
- KDF delegates attend and present at the 1st Annual Conference of the Kawasaki Disease Society of India – Chandigarh, India

January 26, 2019
- Ninth National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day – Nationwide
January 1-26, 2019
- Third Annual National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day Online Campaign: “Heart on Your Sleeve for KD” – Nationwide
June 21, 2019
- KDF launches “Kawasaki Disease Awareness Challenge” for People to Ride, Run, Walk Or Hike To Help Save Kawasaki Kid’s Hearts – Nationwide
July 2019
- KDF launches the “Tote Bag” Project to Support Newly Diagnosed Patients and their Families – Nationwide
- KDF donates $25,000 to Seattle Children’s Hospital for KD Research – Seattle, WA
October 19, 2019
- Eleventh Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego
- Fifth Live Event Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium via Facebook – UC San Diego

January 26, 2020
- Tenth National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day – Nationwide
January 1-26, 2020
- Fourth Annual National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day Online Campaign: “Heart on Your Sleeve for KD” – Nationwide
May 7, 2020
- KDF hosts “KD & Covid-19 FAQ’s” special session with Dr. Adriana Tremoulet, MD from UC San Diego to address KD community questions and concerns – Nationwide
September 4, 2020
- Second “Kawasaki Disease Awareness Challenge” for People to Ride, Run, Walk Or Hike To Help Save Kawasaki Kid’s Hearts (KDF Face Mask Virtual 5K) – Nationwide
August 21, 2020
- KDF partners with UC San Diego KD Research Center to collect photos of children during the acute KD illness to assist researchers with creating a computer model to diagnose KD in future patients using artificial intelligence (AI) – Worldwide
October 2020
- KDF turns 20! KDF Celebrates 20th year anniversary – Nationwide
- KDF launches “KDF Youth” a KDF program to increase awareness among youth and teens and increase KD youth participation in the KD community – Nationwide
October 17, 2020
- Twelfth Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium (held virtually due to Covid-19 pandemic) – UC San Diego
- Sixth Live Event Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego

January 26, 2021
- Eleventh National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day – Nationwide
January 1-26, 2021
- Fifth Annual National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day Online Campaign: “Heart on Your Sleeve for KD” – Nationwide
July 1, 2021
- KDF Founder & President, Gregory Chin steps down from his role; Vanessa Gutierrez assumes the role of President
October 2021
- KDF donates $5,000 to support the 13th International Kawasaki Disease Symposium Parents Meeting in Tokyo, Japan (held virtually due to Covid-19 pandemic) – Worldwide
October 2, 2021
- Thirteenth Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium (held virtually due to Covid-19 pandemic) – UC San Diego
- Seventh Live Event Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego
October 30, 2021
- KDF delegates attend and present at the 13th International Kawasaki Disease Symposium – Tokyo, Japan (held virtually due to Covid-19 pandemic)

January 15, 2022
- KDF Youth launches interview series on Instagram. The first live interview featured KD survivor Paige Garnica – Worldwide
January 26, 2022
- Twelfth National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day – Nationwide
January 1-26, 2022
- Sixth Annual National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day Online Campaign: “Heart on Your Sleeve for KD” – Nationwide
June 1, 2022
- KDF launches “KD Virtual Race – 1000K Run” designed for participants to raise KD awareness and fundraise while completing a virtual 5K or 10K personal challenge – Nationwide
October 29, 2022
- Fourteenth Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego
- Eight Live Event Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego

January 26, 2023
- Thirteenth National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day – Nationwide
January 1-26, 2023
- Seventh Annual National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day Online Campaign: “Heart on Your Sleeve for KD” – Nationwide
August 17, 2023
- KDF donates $50,000 to sponsor the 14th International Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium scheduled to be held in Montreal, Canada in 2024.
November 3, 2023
- KDF presents at the 1st International Kawasaki Disease Registry & EUROKiDs Joint Meeting, which took place from November 2nd to 4th, 2023 in Bologna, Italy and virtually.
November 4, 2023
- Fifteenth Annual Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium (held virtually) – UC San Diego
- Ninth Live Event Kawasaki Disease Parent Symposium – UC San Diego

January 26, 2024
- Fourteenth National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day – Nationwide
January 1-26, 2024
- Eighth Annual National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day Online Campaign: “Heart on Your Sleeve for KD” – Nationwide
April 1, 2024
- KDF launches the Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki Memorial Scholarship in recognition of Dr. Kawasaki’s contributions to pediatric medicine; the scholarship offers two annual scholarships of $5,000 and $10,000 to students majoring in a health-related field with a connection to KD – Nationwide
May 29, 2024
- The Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki Memorial Scholarship recipients are selected: Julia Fitzgerald and Aditya Gupta – Nationwide

Gregory ChinKDF Founder & Former President

Although we’re a small all-volunteer organization comprised of KD parents and survivors, we have big ideas. However, we can only carry on our mission with your continued support and patience.