The Arkansas Children’s Hospital Festival of Stars Toy & Donation Drive means so much to the children and families that spend their holidays at ACH. Many families do not have the finances or time to purchase toys for their children. Take a moment to read a quote from Mindy Yates, whose son Hayden was diagnosed with cancer in the spring. This season, you have the ability to make the holidays brighter for children like Hayden Yates & his family.
“This really isn’t my style, but as I’ve spent so much time at ACH since Hayden’s diagnosis, I will forever be indebted to them for the care that they have given Hayden. It’s just an amazing place with awesome, hayden and minawesome people who truly want to work there. Festival of Stars is a program that helps parents give gifts to their child as many kids will call ACH their home for the Christmas holiday, making it nearly impossible for a parent to shop. I can’t imagine spending Ch
ristmas in the hospital. The programs that ACH have in place to help kids and their families is beyond belief. This is one of those examples.
If any of you are willing to volunteer an hour or two on the 18th, please let me know a time that you would be available. If any of you would like to purchase a toy or two (or ten!), the flyer has information regarding wish list items. These items can be taken to the drop off. Also, there have been two anonymous donations of a dollar-for-dollar match up to $5,000 each for any monetary donations which can be done online. Please, no amount is too small.
Just know that I am and will continue to work tirelessly with any request that the ACH Foundation asks of me. Most recently, I was given the opportunity to share my story and what ACH means to me and this community at the Walmart Home Office. The story behind this is that Walmart wanted to do something unheard of in the area of philanthropy. So, it partnered with ACH to form what is known as the Medical Legal Partnership. The attorneys at Walmart take on legal cases to help patients at ACH pro bono. One example is a little girl in need of a specific medication to live. This medication was FDA approved. The cost was around $300K/year, and her insurance company denied covering the medication. Walmart attorneys sued the insurance company and won the case, thus saving the life of this little girl. This is amazing work. I was asked to come speak to approximately 85 attorneys that were being trained to do this pro bono work for ACH. I was so proud of myself for stepping outside of my comfort zone and sharing my story.
I’m sure this won’t be the first time that I reach out with some request for ACH. Please understand what a special place this is that I will forever hold deep in my heart. I appreciate all that you have done and continue to do for my family as well as the families of ACH.
Happy Holidays!”
December 18 from 7 am to 5 pm, you can make a donation to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital. For a list of toy ideas for children of all ages and more information on how to make a child’s holiday better, visit archildrens.org/festival. To make a monetary donation, please visit https://www.giving.archildrens.org/festivalofstars.
