(Madera, California) – With coins and dollar bills, Rite Aid customers have supported Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals for 26 years, with the collective effort surpassing $100 million in lifetime giving following the company’s 2020 Miracle Balloon Campaign.
Support of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals serves as a point of community pride for Rite Aid associates each year and has been embraced by the surrounding community and corporate vendors. Much of the $100 million has been raised a dollar at a time from generous Rite Aid customers, through the purchase of Miracle Balloon coupons or straight donations. All funds stay local and fund patient services, critical care, life-saving equipment, pediatric programs and more at children’s hospitals, including Valley Children’s Hospital.
This past summer, Rite Aid customers donated $1.9 million during the annual Miracle Balloon Campaign, which ran eight weeks across more than 2,400 stores. In the Central Valley, 38 Rite Aid stores and The Rite Aid Foundation contributed $138,392 to Valley Children’s Hospital. Rite Aid has donated $765,354 to Valley Children’s since 1994.
“We are so fortunate to have a partner like Rite Aid supporting Valley Children’s and other children’s hospitals around the country,” said Rob Saroyan, president of Valley Children’s Healthcare Foundation. “On behalf of the entire team at Valley Children’s and the patients we serve, we thank Rite Aid, The Rite Aid Foundation, associates and customers for giving the gift of growing up to our young patients, especially during these challenging times.”
“This milestone is the culmination of millions and millions of small acts of kindness, compassion and care for each other. Raised dollar by dollar over more than 25 years, these funds have literally saved lives and changed children’s futures,” said Jessica Kazmaier, president of The Rite Aid Foundation and executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Rite Aid. “We are profoundly grateful for the care that children’s hospitals provide to our neighborhoods and thank our loyal customers for everyday generosity that has accumulated into immeasurable, life-changing impact.”
Recognizing the extraordinary need posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Rite Aid Foundation this year will contribute an additional $3.5 million in grant funding on top of the funds raised in stores to support the 53 CMN Hospitals within Rite Aid’s 18-state footprint. Separately, the Foundation this spring supported children’s hospitals during the acute onset of the pandemic with a $250,000 grant.
Combined, Rite Aid and The Rite Aid Foundation will support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals with more than $5.6 million of collective support in 2020, bringing the company’s lifetime giving to more than $102 million. Rite Aid is one of seven corporate partners to surpass the $100 million milestone in support of CMN Hospitals since the network was founded in 1983.
“Surpassing the $100 million fundraising milestone is a tremendous testament to Rite Aid’s years of dedication to building healthier communities and transforming how our network of children’s hospitals meets the most urgent needs, saving more lives and protecting our collective future,” said Teri Nestel, president and CEO of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. “We are grateful to Rite Aid’s customers, vendors and associates for confronting the many challenges of 2020 to help us change kids’ health, and change the future – for all of us.”
This year’s corporate and philanthropic support comes during a critical time when children’s hospitals across the country have found themselves on the frontlines of a generation-defining pandemic. Hospitals have responded by marshaling personal protective equipment, developing creative new ways to deliver therapeutic programs to patients and contributing to the COVID-19 vaccine development. In some cases, children’s hospitals have used their pediatric intensive care units to treat adults with the coronavirus.
In Central California, philanthropic dollars have supported Valley Children’s expansion into a powerful network of care that treats all pediatric patients, regardless of their ability to pay. Earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report ranked Valley Children’s Hospital as one of the best children’s hospitals in the country in seven pediatric specialties.