ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S
HOSPITAL AUXILIARY 2017-2018 STEWARDSHIP REPORT Because of your generous support for more than 50 years, Arkansas Children’s is championing children by making them better today and healthier tomorrow.
CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN Established in 1967, the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Auxiliary leadership has grown to include more than 500 women who give their time, energy and talents in order to raise funds for the finest medical care, technology and a wide range of outreach and innovative support programs for children and families.
THANKS TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.
Because of you, children will be better today and healthier tomorrow! And thank you to our generous partners in our mission to champion children—especially our presenting and premier sponsors: PRESENTING SPONSORS
PREMIER SPONSORS Blackmon Auctions Colliers International Sharilyn and Brent Gasaway Landers Visions
Cindy & Chip Murphy Schueck Steel Southern Glazer‘s Wine & Spirits of Arkansas Windstream
Year In Review
The Auxiliary undertakes the following major projects each year:
Holiday Card Project
Miracle Ball
Playaway Gift Shop
Arkansas à la Carte Star ACHievers
MONEY RAISED:
$1.2 MILLION
Arkansas à la Carte
Holiday Card Project
Miracle Ball
Playaway Gift Shop
130,000
$
660,000 +
$
56,000
$
300,000
$
Membership
19,000 +
$
Star ACHiever
35,000
$
By the Numbers The Auxiliary has supported causes across the spectrum from specialty patient care to social work to child maltreatment and research. Misc 0.01%
ACRI (Ops Support) 4.17%
Clark Center for Safe and Healthy Children Collaboration Fund 14.6% Comfort Foods Program 2.5% Good Mourning Program 2.5%
Enhancing Patient Experience in Public and Outdoor Spaces 59.55%
Patient Monitors Miracle Ball Miracle Match 12.5% Palliative Care Program 4.17%
Major Funding Initiatives Through the Years Arkansas Children’s Hospital Auxiliary and Jerry G. Jones, MD Endowed Chair in Child Maltreatment Arkansas Children’s Hospital Auxiliary and John F. Redman, MD Endowed Chair in Pediatric Urology David M. Clark Center for Safe and Healthy Children ACH Auxiliary Infant Toddler Unit (ITU) Enhancing Patient Experience in Public and Outdoor spaces – NEW!
Members Engaged: 513 3,182 Members
Volunteer Hours
Thank you! Your support helps kids like Addilyn have a healthier tomorrow.
W
hen Addilyn Byrd was just 3 years old, she began to show symptoms of an allergic reaction around her eyes. Then, a li le before Thanksgiving, her parents noticed their otherwise healthy li le girl always looked flushed. A er many doctor and hospital visits, Mark and Amanda Byrd knew they weren’t dealing with allergies, eczema or dermatitis. Something was wrong. By January, Addilyn’s muscles were so weak that she couldn’t carry a 20 oz. bo le. “And then she got to where she couldn’t go more than 10--15 feet without being carried,” says, Amanda. She was red, swollen and weak, but no one seemed to have an answer. Frustrated, Addilyn’s dad posted about her symptoms on Facebook. A friend with an autoimmune disease saw the post and sent Mark several articles. They sounded all too familiar, so Mark and Amanda asked Addilyn’s doctor in Clarksville to run blood tests. The results confirmed the family’s growing suspicions—Addilyn had a rare autoimmune disease called juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM). Then Addilyn’s doctor referred the Byrds to Arkansas Children’s Hospital. “Dr. Sukesh and his nurse were amazing,” Amanda says of Dr. Sukesh Sukumaran, a rheumatologist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. “It’s by the grace of God that Dr. Sukesh is here.” Because juvenile dermatomyositis is so rare—diagnosed in approximately two to four children in a million in the U.S. each year—it is o en misdiagnosed. The disease causes muscle inflammation and weakness hindering a child’s ability to walk, run, jump, climb stairs or even sit up. If le untreated, it affects the organs, especially the heart and lungs. Along with muscle weakness, JDM causes inflammation in Addilyn’s skin, which appears as a rash on her elbows and knees.
To keep her JDM from flaring up, Addilyn avoids sunlight, which can trigger inflammation, and takes daily and weekly medications at home. Every month, she stays at ACH overnight and receives a mix of steroids and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. And every three months, she receives a chemotherapy treatment. Addilyn also sees Dr. Brita Rook, an ophthalmologist at ACH, who watches for inflammation in her eyes. “We’ve learned a lot and we’ve learned what a new normal is,” says Amanda. Still, navigating their “new normal” can be challenging. “Addilyn screams and cries every time she has an IV put in,” she says. But the nurses do everything they can to calm her fears, sending Addilyn home with presents from the toy closet and inviting her to special activities around the hospital. Visiting the therapy dogs at Camp Wannaplay also takes Addilyn’s mind off of painful needle sticks. Thanks to her treatments and care by the team at Arkansas Children’s, the “sassy” 4-year-old leads a fairly typical life these days. She loves to be the boss, even though she’s the youngest of four siblings: Cailynne, 14, Briana, 14, Alex, 10, and Sophie, 9. She loves to sing, cheer and play “superheroes.” Her superhero Buddy Bear goes everywhere Addilyn goes—he hasn’t missed a hospital visit yet. While there is no cure for juvenile dermatomyositis, Addilyn’s family is grateful for the doctors and nurses at ACH who fight to keep her disease in remission. “Honestly, the rheumatologists at ACH saved my baby’s life,” says Amanda. “There’s no other place I’d want to send my daugher than Arkansas Children’s.”
“Addilyn’s favorite memory at ACH is getting to put her handprint on the Hyundai this summer,” Amanda says of the Hyundai Hope on Wheels event. “She was having a bad day because the nurses had to redo her IV. They asked her if she wanted to go to the event and she had a blast!”
THANK YOU
for more than 50 years of championing the children of Arkansas 2017-2018 AUXILIARY BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Mary-Margaret Marks First Vice President Lindsey Gray Second Vice President Terry Quinn Treasurer Katharine Allen Adams Recording Secretary Meredith Flanagin Corresponding Secretary Sue Frank Historian Bobbi McDaniel PROJECT CHAIRS Arkansas à la Carte Chair Kristen Saffa Arkansas à la Carte Chair Elect Sara Beth Hughes Holiday Cards Chair Aimee Shelby Holiday Cards Chair Elect Anne Wallace Hospitality Chair Holly-Beth Willis JLLR Liaison Amanda Richardson Membership Chair LaRand Thomas Membership Chair Elect Kimberly Bowman Miracle Ball Chair Marisa Nabholz Playaway Gi Shop Chair Jennifer Schueck Playaway Gi Shop Chair Elect Neal Lea Race For a Healthier Tomorrow Chairs Angie Johnson & Ashley Parker Race For a Healthier Tomorrow Chair Elect Kristen Minton Public Relations Ginger Blackmon Star ACHievers Chair Ann Denis Star ACHievers Chair Elect Melissa Schutz-Gonzalez Volunteer Chair Amanda Daugherty Volunteer Chair Elect Sydney Blackmon SUPPORT STAFF Fred Scarborough, CFRE, President of Arkansas Children's Foundation Jennifer Selig, CFRE, Executive Director of Volunteer Engagement Jamie Brainard, Senior Development Officer, Auxiliary Paula Parke, Playaway Gi Shop Manager