Wave Staff Report
HOLLYWOOD — Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has launched its eighth annual Make March Matter campaign.
Academy Award nominated actress, author, advocate and longtime hospital supporter Jamie Lee Curtis joined the hospital to kick off the campaign March 1. The month-long fundraising drive hopes to raise $1 million or more to support children’s health in Los Angeles.
Curtis was presented with a personalized quilt made by patients in the hospital’s expressive arts therapy program. An obviously moved Curtis, who is nominated for an Academy Award this year told those on hand, “I’ve had a lot of surprises in the last few months, but this is the nicest one.
Since the campaign’s inaugural launch in 2016, local businesses and corporate partners have helped raise more than $10 million to aid in funding lifesaving care for children in Los Angeles and surrounding communities. Individuals can participate in this year’s campaign in very accessible ways including dining or ordering takeout from local food establishments, shopping in person, participating in more than 30 different events across the greater Los Angeles area, including workouts and cooking classes and much more.
“Every year, I am humbled by the fervent commitment of the Southern California business community to Make March Matter for the precious children who are entrusted to our care,” says Children’s Hospital President and CEO Paul S. Viviano. “Children’s Hospital Los Angeles continues to push pediatric medicine forward with globally leading research and groundbreaking treatments thanks to this support of our mission to create hope and build healthier futures, and we could not be more grateful.”
Each year, Children’s Hospital treats children who face a broad range of health issues, from common illnesses to traumas and chronic diseases. The hospital is also dedicated to innovation, supporting advances in research designed to improve pediatric health outcomes and partnering with physicians across the nation to bring the best care to children in Los Angeles.
Four-year-old Ella Nelson is serving as the face of this year’s campaign. Just before she was 2, Ella was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma, a rare pediatric cancer that affects about 700 kids in the U.S each year.
After extensive research to find the top hospitals in the country, Ella and her family packed up their life and moved across the country to Los Angeles within a week of receiving the diagnosis. At Children’s Hospital, Ella received the best care and became cancer-free after just two cycles of medical treatment. Her mother, Megan Nelson, said “the best decision we made as a family was to come to CHLA.”
Among the corporate partners for this year’s campaign is Panda Express, through its philanthropic arm Panda Cares.
“Panda and [Children’s Hospital] are united in a shared vision and passion for the health and well-being of children,” said Tina Hsing, director of Panda Cares. “We are incredibly proud to be Make March Matter’s top fundraiser since the campaign’s inception, and we remain committed to throwing our full support behind the Panda Cares Center of Hope at CHLA and the programs and services that provide compassionate and healing care for CHLA patients and families.”
Founded in 1901, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is the largest provider of care for children in Los Angeles County, the No. 1 pediatric hospital in California and the Pacific region, and is consistently ranked in the top 10 in the nation on U.S. News & World Report’s Honor Roll of Best Children’s Hospitals. Clinical expertise spans the pediatric care continuum for newborns to young adults, from everyday preventive medicine to the most medically complex cases.
Inclusive, compassionate, child- and family-friendly clinical care is led by physicians who are faculty members of the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Physicians translate the new discoveries, treatments and cures proven through the work of scientists in the Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The hospital also is home to one of the largest training programs for pediatricians in the United States.
