October 2, 2018

The Legacy of Motown Gala on September 29 at Revention Music Center topped the philanthropy charts, raising more than $83 million and making it the highest-grossing fundraising gala in Texas. The event was underwritten by The Lester & Sue Smith Foundation, whose commitment to match funds raised inspired others to generously give.

But the biggest hit of the night was the announcement of the naming of Texas Children’s latest expansion project – the Lester and Sue Smith Legacy Tower. The Smiths, who have dedicated their private wealth for public good, generously pledged $50 million to Texas Children’s to support Legacy Tower, the hospital’s new home for heart, intensive care and surgery, as well as to support patient care and research at Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

“I am incredibly grateful to Lester and Sue for this transformational gift,” said Mark Wallace, president and CEO of Texas Children’s. “Their unwavering commitment to our patients and families over the years is unmatched, and this is another shining example of their extraordinary generosity and compassionate care for others.”

Drawing from a place of gratitude for the life-saving care Lester received during his battles with cancer, the dynamic couple has dedicated more than $150 million to support research at numerous institutions including Texas Children’s, Baylor College of Medicine and Harris Health System. Following the Disco Legends event in 2012, which benefitted Texas Children’s Cancer Center, the clinic was named in their honor as the Lester and Sue Smith Clinic.

“Giving to others is our guiding philosophy,” said Lester and Sue Smith. “There is nothing more precious than a child, and we hope this gift will help support the incomparable patient care for which the hospital is known. It is truly our honor to leave a legacy of support for generations to come at Texas Children’s.”

Legacy Tower adds 640,000 square feet to Texas Children’s sprawling Texas Medical Center campus. In May, the first phase of the tower opened with six technologically advanced operating rooms for neurosurgery, orthopedics, plastic surgery, transplant and pediatric surgery – one with intraoperative MRI – and 84 ICU beds, including dedicated surgical, neurological and transitional ICU rooms. The second phase of Legacy Tower opened last week and serves as the new home for Texas Children’s Heart Center®, ranked No. 1 nationally in pediatric cardiology and heart surgery by U.S. News & World Report. This milestone will help Texas Children’s continue to provide the highest-quality care possible to patients and families, particularly those children who are critically ill.

To learn more visit legacytower.org.

Texas Children’s Cancer Center is consistently ranked as one of the best cancer programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. It is the largest pediatric cancer center in the nation and the destination for children from more than 35 states and 26 countries to receive individualized, state-of-the-art cancer care. Additionally, more than 91,000 outpatient visits occur in the Lester and Sue Smith Clinic each year.

To learn more visit texaschildrens.org/cancer.

July 17, 2018

On July 9, Texas Children’s Hospital and the Angelman Syndrome Foundation celebrated the official opening of the Angelman Syndrome Clinic at Texas Children’s, one of only seven Angelman syndrome-specific clinics in the United States – and the first in Texas.

Several patient families gathered on the 16th floor of Wallace Tower to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony. Debbie Sukin, the daughter of the late Dr. Ralph Feigin, delivered the opening remarks and shared how this new clinic will benefit her 16-year-old son Jacob and so many other children diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome.

“The hardest part of advocating and managing a child with Angelman Syndrome is trying to understand what might be wrong when they aren’t feeling right, looking right or acting right,” Sukin said. “We’re confident that this multidisciplinary clinic here at Texas Children’s will provide all children the expertise and best chance at meeting their maximum potential and provide guidance to ensure the best outcome.”

Occurring in one in 15,000 live births, Angelman syndrome is a neurogenetic disorder often misdiagnosed as autism or cerebral palsy that causes severe neurological impairment. Often times, these patients experience developmental delays, lack of speech, seizures, and walking and balancing disorders.

With the creation of this new clinic established through the generosity of donors and in partnership with the ASF, patients and their families now can access multiple specialists – experts in Angelman syndrome, clinical geneticists, neurologist, psychiatrist, speech language pathologist, genetic counselors and social work – in one setting rather than visiting multiple locations across the nation to manage and treat this disease.

“Thanks to the help of the ASF, we are proud to further our mission of providing very specialized care for patients with Angelman syndrome,” said Chief of Neurology Dr. Gary Clark. “Given the science that’s being developed at the NRI at Texas Children’s in genetics and neurology, we are making great strides in helping these patients.”

The ribbon cutting event also included remarks from Dr. Carlos Bacino, chief of the Angelman Syndrome Clinic, Carrie Rys, assistant vice president, and Eileen Braun, executive director of the Angelman Syndrome Foundation, whose organization donated $50,000 to advance Angelman syndrome research at Texas Children’s.

“Opening this clinic brings us one step closer to our commitment to establish a network of clinics across the country,” Braun said. “We could not be more proud to support Texas Children’s and their remarkable team of professionals in bringing this clinic to life. We look forward to impacting the lives of so many more families.”

Click here to learn more about our Angelman Syndrome Clinic at Texas Children’s.

July 5, 2018

When late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel faced off against Senator Ted Cruz in a one-on-one charity basketball game in Houston last month, the event brought in nearly $50,000 benefiting Texas Children’s Hospital – which was a lot more fundraising dollars than expected.

At the beginning of the competition, the loser of the game would contribute $5,000 to the winner’s charity of choice. Although Kimmel lost the game to Cruz, Kimmel personally donated $10,000 to Texas Children’s. His team worked closely with Texas Children’s Philanthropy to raise even more money.

Besides including a link to the Texas Children’s donation form on the ticket registration website, both teams explored other strategies to encourage more people to participate in this fundraising effort.

“We suggested Kimmel’s team use a Facebook fundraising application similar to a Go Fund Me page that subsequently helped us raise more than $14,000 in donations alone to Texas Children’s,” said Philanthropy Services Director Stacey Cook. “Once Kimmel’s team set up the site, people could share the fundraising page on their social media pages and encourage their family and friends to donate to Texas Children’s.”

In addition to leveraging the Facebook fundraising app, Philanthropy offered other opportunities for people to donate, including a text to give option and collecting onsite donations at the game. Also, half of the proceeds from the event’s merchandise sales, amounting to $7,500, went directly to Texas Children’s.

Generating over 883 million media impressions, Texas Children’s Public Relations and Social Media teams worked with Philanthropy to raise awareness about the charity basketball game. Many of our employees also helped spread the word through social media, and others donated to the fundraiser.

“Anyone can have a meaningful impact on fundraising at Texas Children’s,” Cook said. “In this case, every donation counted and helped us raise more than we ever anticipated for this event.”

June 12, 2018

Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel just announced an exciting basketball game he will play right here in Houston – and you’re invited! On Saturday, June 16, Kimmel will face off against Senator Ted Cruz at Texas Southern University in a one-on-one charity basketball game benefiting Texas Children’s. Tough questions will be asked, ring ball will be played and Kimmel will interview Cruz live on the court.

Tickets to the event are free, but attendees are encouraged to donate to Texas Children’s.

Details can be found at www.kimmelvscruz.com. Support the hospital and show your spirit by wearing a Texas Children’s shirt to the game!

April 26, 2018

On April 24, Texas Children’s friends and supporters attended The Forum Luncheon highlighting the amazing work of the Texas Children’s Heart Center, currently ranked No. 1 in the nation for cardiology and heart surgery by U.S. News & World Report.

Held at The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston, the program highlighted the story of Tenley Kennedy, who was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition when her mother, Kelly Kennedy, was 20 weeks pregnant.

Kelly said she’d never give up on her baby girl, and neither did the team at the Heart Center.

Two-year-old Tenley was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital heart defect that affects normal blood flow through the heart. As a result of her disease, Tenley spent most of her life at Texas Children’s Hospital waiting for a heart transplant. On May 13, 2017, her day finally came. Tenley received a heart transplant. The little girl is now at home in Louisiana and thriving.

“Texas Children’s Hospital saved Tenley’s life, and we are forever indebted,” Kelly said.

March 6, 2018

On March 1, close to 340 golfers played colorfully and raised more than $500,000 at the 20th annual Bad Pants Open golf tournament at the Clubs of Kingwood, benefitting Texas Children’s Newborn Center.

Each year, organizers of the golf tournament set out to raise hundreds of thousands to support the hospital’s level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) that cares for the smallest and sickest babies. To celebrate Bad Pants’ 20th anniversary, the tournament also honored Texas Children’s NICU patient families from the last 20 years, many of whom attended the annual event.

“It was uplifting to see these children, now much older doing so well after going through a tough NICU course, and it was moving to see the pride and joy on the faces of the families of these children,” said Texas Children’s Chief of Neonatology Dr. Gautham Suresh. “It reminded me of what a privilege it is to serve as a physician and have the opportunity to take care of NICU patients in such a wonderful place as Texas Children’s Hospital.”

The event featured a post-play awards ceremony and dinner where players were awarded plates painted by Texas Children’s patients for both the best golf scores and baddest pants. Allyson Johnson, a NICU nurse at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, was presented with the Nurse of the Year award, a special recognition awarded at each tournament. While it is an honor to receive this award, she says seeing former patients thriving and happy is a reflection of the great work we do.

“It made me feel proud to know and hear from several families there how much we make a difference in their time spent in the NICU,” Johnson said. “It really warms my heart to see good outcomes from the attentive care we proudly provide in the Newborn Center at Texas Children’s.”

Proceeds from The Bad Pants Open support continued innovation and excellence in the research, treatment and care of critically ill and premature infants at Texas Children’s Newborn Center. Over the past 20 years, The Bad Pants Open has provided nearly $6.5 million in support of our Newborn Center – the nation’s largest NICU and one of only two Level IV NICUs in the greater Houston area. Their support has helped the Newborn Center provide programs and services to our NICU families including Family Support Groups, NICU Reunion, Parking for Patients Program as well as the work being carried out through Neonatal Family Advisory Committee.

“The Newborn Center is very fortunate to have the Bad Pants Open Committee raising money for the patients we care for and their families, as well as for the nurses and for medical research,” Suresh said. “I think of the committee as the “Bad Pants-Good Deeds” Committee and I am immensely grateful for their volunteer efforts.”

The next Bad Pants Open golf tournament is scheduled for October 11. More information is available at www.badpantsopen.com

January 30, 2018

Texas Children’s helped push almost 40 runners across the finish line of the Houston Marathon and Half Marathon January 14 in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center. As part of the Texas Children’s Running Team, the runners signed up for the 26.2 mile or 13.1 mile race not only to hit the pavement but to raise money for a good cause – Texas Children’s.

The team – comprised of Texas Children’s employees, patient family members and others who have been touched by the organization – raised close to $30,000 for the organization.

“We are so appreciative of everyone’s participation and enthusiasm for our mission, which is to provide the best possible care for women and children in the Houston area and beyond,” said Eric Blackwell, manager of special event for Texas Children’s. “Your donations and efforts will directly impact the lives of countless children.”

This is the third year Texas Children’s Hospital has been an official charity for the Houston Marathon and Armaco Half Marathon Run for a Reason program, giving people a way to participate in the race of their choice with a guaranteed entry – on behalf of a charity.

Runners, or walkers, can participate either as a Hero Runner, making a one-time tax-deductible donation of at least $350, plus the cost of registration, or as a fundraiser, committing to bring in at least $500 and race registration, which is $140 for marathon and $125 for the half marathon.

“Running for Texas Children’s Hospital is not just about the race, it’s a promise to our patients,” Blackwell said. “By becoming a member of our team, you allow us to expand our care to even more children and women who need our help.”

Registration for the 2019 Houston Marathon and Half Marathon is open and filling up fast! To join the Texas Children’s Running team and participate in the Run for a Reason program, click here and scroll down to the Texas Children’s Hospital logo. To see who participated in the 2018 race click here. For more information, email Tarryn Lankford.