An annual gala fundraiser hopes to raise $200,000 to help kids at the University of Virginia Children's Hospital. Saturday 400 hospital supporters filled Keswick Hall, all with one goal: to guarantee children and their families have top-notch care while at the children's hospital.
Thanks to the gala, the UVA Children's Hospital is one evening closer to paying for its new state of the art outpatient facility.
UVA Medical Center CEO Edward Howell said, "We're just under $10 million dollars short on it, so we're still working on it."
The fundraising dollars are not dedicated to the new facility alone; the hospital's annual fund will benefit the most.
Kelly Snow, the director of annual giving at the UVA Children's Hospital stated, "It's all kinds of things that help support the immediate needs. It's spend annually so it gives the administration at the hospital what it needs to really make a difference for kids."
The community's donations often support the families just as much during their child's stay in the hospital.
Howell stated, "When a child is ill the whole family has a need, so our contributions not only support families and the care for children, but also help in the investing in new cures for the future."
Donors and supporters say they are proud to celebrate the hospital's accomplishments while forging on to make way for the future.
Howell stated, "It creates an investment in our children which is an investment in our future and that's all very, very important for Charlottesville and for our entire region."
Howell says while the need for donations is still great, the hospital is getting closer to its goal. The hospital plans to have all the money raised by the scheduled opening of the facility in April 2014.
