Leaders of Banner Children’s Hospital at Banner Desert Medical Center today announced their involvement in a new nonprofit foundation, Together for Kids™, which will raise funds nationally to help Banner Children’s and other member hospitals cope with dramatic increases in the health needs of children.
“We are pleased to be a founding hospital in Together for Kids,” said Rhonda Anderson, Associate Administrator for Pediatrics at Banner Children’s Hospital. “Banner Children’s works hard to keep abreast of the challenges facing children’s health care the East Valley, Arizona and beyond. Together for Kids will allow our hospital to continue to be a leader in pediatric care in the Valley, while providing funding for the expansion of services in key health initiatives.”
Together for Kids has been created to support the critical work of children’s hospitals in caring for seriously ill and injured kids. Pediatric specialists on the Together for Kids Physicians Advisory Committee have prioritized the issues of childhood obesity and accident prevention as critical challenges for this inaugural year, tasking the member hospitals to work together to make a real difference.
“Banner Children’s Hospital reaches out to our community with many programs targeting childhood illnesses, including Asthma and Diabetes, as well as our extensive Banner Buddies Injury Prevention Program,” said Anderson. “These programs all include community outreach, swim classes for kids with Asthma, community-wide Walk for Water Safety, bike helmet fittings, and car seat education to allow us to help as many children as possible stay safe and healthy.”
According to statistics from the Center for Disease Control, the percentage of overweight children has jumped from 6 percent to more than 17 percent since the 1980s. In addition, the number of children with asthma has doubled and the number of uninsured children has risen to more than 11 percent of all kids.
Together for Kids consists of 34 children’s hospitals and hospital systems, representing 53 individual facilities serving children in 47 U.S. cities. As a tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) public charity, Together for Kids will raise funds through corporate sponsorships, events, grants and other forms of philanthropy, distributing the funds to member hospitals to address the most urgent children’s health needs in their communities.
In April 2008, Banner Children’s and other member hospitals will participate in Together for Kids’ first annual national fundraising campaign, Come Out to Play!—a month-long series of events around the country to raise funds for hospitalized children and to encourage kids and families to take part in active play that’s healthy and safe.
Banner Children’s announcement was in conjunction with a press conference held Sept. 26 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. for the launch of Together for Kids. Celebrity spokespersons Actress Angie Harmon and her husband, former New York Giant Jason Sehorn, were at the National Press Club to dedicate their support to Together for Kids.