Spirit Halloween raises over $124,000 for patients
A record-breaking donation of $124,696 was raised for UC Davis Children’s Hospital’s Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department, which supports the emotional needs of pediatric patients and families. Annual donations from Spirit Halloween’s Spirit of Children foundation fund the UC Davis child life fellowship program, which provides additional training and supervision to aspiring certified child life specialists. The specialty retail store has donated more than $900,000 to UC Davis Children’s Hospital during the past decade.
Virtual Toy Drive raises over $28,000
Every hospitalized child at UC Davis Children’s Hospital received free toys for the holidays in 2022. Patelco Credit Union offered a donation match of $10,000 to support the virtual toy drive, and more than 70 people donated over 500 toys and gifts from the hospital’s Amazon wish list. Additional funds were used to provide art and music supplies, treasure box prizes and giveaways during hospitalizations as well as visits to the Comprehensive Cancer Center and MIND Institute. Children who celebrated their birthday in the hospital also received gifts, thanks to the generosity of donors.
St. Baldrick’s ‘Brave the Shave’ raises funds for childhood cancer research
More than 90 “shavees” stepped up to have their hair shaved after raising money for pediatric cancer research at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. Keaton’s Child Cancer Alliance — a nonprofit that provides financial, emotional, and educational assistance to children and families battling cancer — teams up with Supercuts and the cancer center each year to sponsor the local event. Since its inception more than 20 years ago, Keaton’s Child Cancer Alliance has donated close to $2.5 million to the pediatric oncology program at the cancer center.
Hyundai Hope on Wheels brings colorful high fives, $100,000 to cancer research
Last August, multi-colored painted handprints covered an electric car as childhood cancer survivors and their families showed appreciation after Hyundai delivered a $100,000 check to help with pediatric cancer research. The grant money will help fund two initiatives: tele-operated collaborative robots to take hospitalized patients on real-time “virtual field trips” to the California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento Zoo, and the Effie Yeaw Nature Center; and fund research involving aggressive pediatric cancers such as rare malignant rhabdoid tumors.
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Child Champion
UC Davis Children’s Hospital is a proud member of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN), an international nonprofit dedicated to raising funds for, and awareness of, children’s hospitals. Donations create miracles by funding medical care, research, equipment and programs that save and improve the lives of our children including this year’s local Children’s Miracle Network child champion Braylin McMullen.
Braylin was 3 years old when her kidneys starting failing due to an E. coli diagnosis. She landed in the Pediatric and Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at UC Davis Children’s Hospital and spent months recovering from kidney and pancreas damage. She received care from our outpatient peritoneal dialysis service and in 2019 successfully received a kidney transplant. Every year, 170 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals identify a “champion” in each of their communities to serve as the face for children treated at their local children’s hospital.
