Walmart and Sam’s Club associates, customers and members in Columbus and across the Plains with multiple stores in East Alabama put their money where the miracles are during the annual Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals fundraising campaign.
 
The Chattahoochee Valley raised $124,055 for The Children’s Hospital at Piedmont Columbus Regional. The effort was part of a national campaign for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals which resulted in over $36 million raised, putting the total raised since 1987 over the $1 billion mark.
 
“Research done by Engage for Good shows that the cumulative $1 billion in cash raised for CMN Hospitals over the years by Walmart and Sam’s Club represents the largest amount ever raised for a nonprofit by one company in North America,” said David Hessekiel, president of Engage for Good, a trade group that tracks cross-sector efforts to generate positive social and business impacts.
 
Donations poured in Aug. 27 to Oct. 7, as Walmart and Sam’s Club associates at 19 locations held various in-store fundraising activities such as dunking booths and hotdog sales and asked customers and members at the register to help kids live better.
 
“I am passionate and dedicated to raising money for Children’s Miracle Network that it brings joy to me daily and keeps me smiling so I encourage all of my friends and family to help support The Children’s Hospital at Piedmont Columbus Regional, your local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital,” said D’vious Turner, Assistant Manager, Walmart Supercenter #4283 in Columbus, GA.
 
The donations will be used to support The Children’s Hospital at Piedmont Columbus Regional by funding state-of-the-art equipment for neonatal and pediatric services. Equipment and supplies needed for neonatal and pediatric patients are highly specialized and do not come in a ‘one size fits all’. The Children’s Hospital at Piedmont Columbus Regional serves Columbus and the surrounding 21 counties, treating over 60,000 pediatric patients a year.
 
“The impact of $1 billion raised by Walmart and Sam’s Club customers, members and associates is hard to fathom,” said John Lauck, president and CEO of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. “Because of their generosity, literally millions of kids across the U.S. and Canada are truly living better.”
 
Walmart and Sam's Club funds impact each of the 170 Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, which treat one in 10 children across North America. Hospitals use the funds based on what they need most — typically providing lifesaving equipment and research, supporting top therapy programs and providing charitable care.