Michael and Pepper Jackson

Philanthropy that changes lives

A helping hand for babies in the NICU

Michael and Pepper Jackson have a special mission: making sure that every child gets a good start in life.

Seven of the Jackson’s grandchildren —including one preemie— were born at CPMC and so the family was eager to help us expand our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. With their help, we added some new high-tech beds for infants and a special microsurgery microscope that allows our doctors to operate with ease on newborns.

Improved health care access for all children

In 2009, the Jacksons were ready to help again, this time with CPMC's Bayview Child Health Center. Bayview has more children than any other community in San Francisco, but for years, it had only one specialist to care for them. It was time for that to change. The Bayview Child Health Center is now providing a wide range of pediatric services for families who for so long, have had nowhere to turn. And its energetic director, Dr. Nadine Burke, is also tackling the epidemic of childhood obesity.

Thanks to the Jacksons we have many dedicated people on the front lines working to give all children, regardless of where they live, a chance to grow up and lead healthy and productive lives.

Because life is precious, we encourage giving to life and a lifetime of giving.