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.

December 5, 2017

The 14th Annual Texas Children’s Radiothon has begun and is packed with inspiring stories about many of our patients, the struggles they are facing and how we are helping them push through.

Historically, the Cox Media-hosted radiothon has been conducted over a couple of days and is broadcasted from Texas Children’s Hospital. This year, because of Hurricane Harvey, and the fact that many people have already been so generous to Houston already, the format of this year’s radiothon has changed.

Instead of a few days with a serious fundraising push, Cox Media will spread its fundraising efforts over several weeks from December 4 to Sunday, December 31, highlighting a story about a Texas Children’s patient each day during a segment called “Hero of the Day.” The stories will air on The Eagle (106.9 & 107.5), Country Legends (97.1) and The New 93Q (92.9).

Click here to view descriptions and a schedule of the stories that will be told by the radio personalities. Please note that the schedule is subject to change.

While listening, consider opening your heart and wallets and asking your family and friends to do the same. Every dollar donated to the radiothon will help Texas Children’s continue to fulfill its mission to create a healthier future for children and women throughout our global community by leading in patient care, education and research.

Click here to make a donation to this year’s Texas Children’s Radiothon.

Watch a video from last year’s Radiothon, which raised more than $650,000.

November 21, 2017

Hundreds of Texas Children’s supporters attended The Forum Luncheon in Houston on November 13. Hosted by The Development Department, the event focused on the success of the Texas Children’s Cancer Center and featured stories from two cancer survivors as well as an in-depth conversation between Cancer Center Director Dr. David Poplack and Fox 26 Morning News Co-Anchor Melissa Wilson.

Poplack’s conversation with Wilson illustrated how far the Cancer Center has come in helping children with cancer, growing from six faculty, 42 employees, one laboratory and less than $300,000 in grant funding when Poplack joined the center in 1993 to a center that now has 190 faculty, more than 900 employees, 46 laboratories and about $40 million a year in peer reviewed grant funding.

“We have become the largest and we believe the finest children’s cancer program in the country,” Poplack said. “Through our many research advances, our development of exciting, effective, new therapies and most recently through our burgeoning global program, we are having a far-reaching impact on the field.”

Poplack emphasized the need for children to be treated in children’s hospitals like Texas Children’s, which has expert multi-disciplinary teams equipped to tend to all aspects of a child’s care. As the largest pediatric cancer center in the U.S., we provide individualized, state-of-the-art medical treatment for patients with childhood cancer, he said.

“Treating children from more than 35 states and 26 countries, we aim to provide the most family-centered, advanced care available,” Poplack added. “In addition to continued excellence and leadership in treating all forms of pediatric cancer, we continue to expand and grow to better serve our patients.”

Poplack stressed that even with dramatic improvements in treating children with cancer – increasing the survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent – the disease still is the leading cause of death from disease in children in the nation.

That’s why Texas Children’s Cancer Center is vigilant in its research efforts, especially in the areas of developmental therapeutics, precision oncology and cell therapy and immunotherapy.

“We are dedicated to developing effective treatments for the 20 percent of childhood cancers that are most difficult to treat,” he said. “We won’t quit until we find a cure, and even then, we will move forward to find better ways to help fulfill the long-term needs of childhood cancer survivors.”

November 14, 2017

Texas Children’s has touched clinical social worker Melanie Pearson on many levels. The organization has given her the job of her dreams. More importantly, the organization and its staff saved the lives of her two sons.

Shortly after delivering her oldest son at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, he was diagnosed with a heart condition. “How fortunate we were to be at one of the greatest teaching hospitals in the country,” Pearson said.

Pearson’s second son came only 14 and a half months later, a month before he was due. Shortly after birth, he was taken to the NICU and cared for by the hospital’s neonatology team. Pearson was only able to hold her newborn son for a few minutes before they had to be separated.

“Only a mother can understand that pain,” she said. “I would not have made it through without my amazing OBGYN and her team. She was the calm in the storm keeping my husband and I updated every step of the way and taking the time to listen and calm our fears.”

Both of Pearson’s sons are doing well today because of the care they received at Texas Children’s. As a result of that care, Pearson said she’s been searching for a way to give back and found it when she learned about the Chevron Houston Marathon’s Run for a Reason charity program.

Texas Children’s Hospital is an official charity for the Houston Marathon and Armaco Half Marathon, taking place on Sunday, January 14, 2018. The Run for a Reason program is a way for runners to run the race of their choice with a guaranteed entry – on behalf of a charity.

“Running for Texas Children’s Hospital is not just about the race, it’s a promise to our patients,” said Eric Blackwell, manager of special event for Texas Children’s. “By signing up to run and fundraise on behalf of Texas Children’s Hospital, your donations will directly impact the lives of countless children. Your race will become the race for our patients who are too sick – sometimes too sick even to play outside. Your support will allow us to expand our care to even more children who need our help.”

Pearson signed up to run the half marathon and said becoming a charity runner was the least she could do to in her effort to repay Texas Children’s for what the hospital has done for her and her family.

“I see it as a small way I can give back to a place that has given me and my family so much,” she said. “I am dedicating this race to the three most important men in my life. My husband and two sons. They are my rock and I wouldn’t be who I am today without them.”

To join Pearson and the Texas Children’s Running Team, click here. To help Pearson and others on the team meet their fundraising goal, click here. And, to volunteer to cheer these awesome runners on the day of the race, Sunday, January 14, click here.

Cheerleaders will be set up between miles 5 and 6, and a Texas Children’s Hospital tent will be stationed in the Bed Bath & Beyond parking lot at 3102 Kirby Drive between Richmond Avenue and West Alabama Street. Cheering begins at 7 a.m. until all runners pass the Texas Children’s tent. Snacks, sign-making materials and T-shirts will be provided to all individuals who sign up to volunteer.

October 31, 2017

Thanks to the generosity of donors far and wide, Texas Children’s Hospital has reached a significant milestone in its Promise Campaign. As of the end of September, donors had contributed $408.9 million, pushing the organization ever closer to its $475 million fundraising goal. The amount raised during fiscal year 2017 alone – $124.7 million – is a new annual high for the hospital’s fundraising team.

This record-breaking year coincides with a rebranding of the team that leads these efforts – the Office of Development is now the Office Philanthropy. “Changing the name from development to philanthropy better defines what we do, which is less transactional and more about the creation and sustainability of a strong and active base of supporters who are dedicated to advancing Texas Children’s mission,” said Amber Tabora, Senior Vice President of Philanthropy, Marketing and Public Relations.

“We are so grateful to our generous donors, volunteers and friends in the community, and to the Office of Philanthropy team, who are all working together to ensure the campaign’s success,” said Michael C. Linn, president of Texas Children’s Board of Trustees. Linn and his wife, Carol, serve as co-chairs of the Promise Campaign, which was launched more than seven years ago.

This major fundraising effort ensures that Texas Children’s can expand to serve even more children who need the highest quality care and can anticipate what our patients’ needs will be in 5, 10 and even 20 years. Funds raised through the campaign are being dedicated to five key initiatives:

Legacy Tower
The new Legacy Tower, scheduled to open in the spring of 2018 will add 640,000 square feet of space to our Main Campus, allowing the hospital to respond to an urgent need for the expansion of critical, surgical and cardiac care services.

Charity Care and Hospital Priorities
Funding for this area supports the advancement of Texas Children’s mission, providing care for all patients regardless of their families’ ability to pay, bridging the gap for un- and under-compensated care, and providing resources to address the hospital’s most pressing needs.

Endowed Chairs
Not a day goes by when Texas Children’s renowned physicians and scientists are not being recruited by other institutions around the world. Funding for endowed chairs enables us to recruit the brightest and best and keep them here.

Divisions and Centers of Excellence
Texas Children’s specialty services are ranked consistently in the top 10 for pediatric hospitals throughout the country. Funding for divisions and centers of excellence like allows us to enhance and expand our existing programs and develop new ones to address our patients’ ever-evolving needs.

Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands
The 548,000-square-foot dedicated pediatric hospital – our second community hospital – expanded Texas Children’s footprint in The Woodlands to better serve the growing communities north of Houston.

“The success of the Promise Campaign depends not only on monetary donations, but also on longstanding relationships with people who believe in the mission of Texas Children’s,” said Linn. “These relationships are what sustain the great work that is being done at the hospital to help children from our own community and beyond.”

The Office of Philanthropy cultivates these partnerships through education, attentive stewardship and appropriate solicitation. The gifts received as a result of this work – no matter how big or small – can be life-changing for our patients, families and staff.

For more information about the Promise Campaign, click here.

October 3, 2017

Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark Wallace and his wife, Shannon, recently donated a very special gift to the Texas Children’s Pawsitive Play Program in memory of their beloved black Labrador, Cadence. The Wallaces have generously pledged an initial $80,000 contribution to the program to enable Texas Children’s to hire another animal-assisted therapy coordinator and therapy dog team to provide therapeutic interventions for patients and families in the Legacy Tower.

“Shannon and I are both animal lovers through and through, and we could not think of a better way to honor Cadence than by donating to the Pawsitive Play Program in her memory,” Wallace said. “We were very attached to Cadence, who brought us so much joy before she passed away. We saw what a positive impact Elsa has made on our patients and their families, and we know the addition of a new therapy dog will allow even more of our patients, employees and staff to benefit from this program in the Legacy Tower.”

Since joining Texas Children’s one year ago, Elsa, Texas Children’s first therapy dog, has provided targeted therapeutic interventions to patients and their families in numerous patient care settings at the Texas Children’s medical center campus. The hospital’s second therapy dog will be specifically trained to care for patients and families in the critical care environment.

“The Pawsitive Play program has made an incredible difference in the healing process for our patients and their families,” said Texas Children’s Assistant Vice President Sarah Maytum. “And the impact extends to our employees and physicians as well. Elsa brightens everyone’s day. I often see her in the hallway, surrounded by a crowd of employees who have stopped to greet Elsa as she is on her way to see patients.”

Texas Children’s will again collaborate with Canine Assistants, a non-profit organization in Atlanta, Georgia, that has matched more than 1,500 therapy dogs, including individual and hospital placements. The organization will conduct a site visit to learn more about the critical care areas of the Legacy Tower before selecting the ideal therapy dog for that environment.

Many of the clinical areas that are moving into Legacy Tower have had great success with the Pawsitive Play Program already. Elsa visits the intensive care and progressive care units on a regular basis. While some patients will not be able to receive a visit from the new service dog because of their clinical conditions, the families, visitors and staff throughout Legacy Tower will be able to experience the comfort of our newest therapy dog.

The Wallaces’ contribution will support Texas Children’s second therapy dog and its handler over the 8-year service life of the dog. Texas Children’s plans to have this new furry companion on staff in early 2018. This will allow sufficient time to get the newest furry member of the team oriented and ready for the opening of Legacy Tower.

“Legacy Tower is so distinctive and innovative,” Wallace said. “It is being equipped with the most advanced technology and much larger, family-centered critical care spaces. It will complement the hospital’s existing ORs and radiology services, and will be home to Texas Children’s No. 1 ranked Heart Center. With so much to look forward to, Shannon and I thought it would be great to bring a special new therapy dog to the patients we will care for in our new critical care tower. We are so fortunate to be able to do something like this, and we both can’t wait to welcome our new friend.”