Annual Free Care Fund Telethon Raises Over $1.5 Million in Pledges and Donations

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Annual Free Care Fund Telethon Raises Over $1.5 Million in Pledges and Donations

Pittsburgh, Pa. - December 23, 2009 -

The Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation’s Free Care Fund received over $1.5 million in pledges and donations during its annual telethon held on Friday, Dec. 18, 2009, at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC’s Lawrenceville campus and at Phipps Conservatory in Oakland.

“The community’s ongoing support for Children’s Hospital is extraordinary,” said Howard W. “Hoddy” Hanna, chairman of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation. “During both good and bad times, the community’s generosity and kindness toward patients and their families exemplifies the resilient and giving nature of people from the tri-state area.”

The Free Care Fund provides free and uncompensated care to children who need the expert and compassionate care of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, but whose family cannot afford it because of a lack of health insurance, a child who has an illness that exceeds what insurances will pay, has a chronic illness, or needs experimental treatment.

In fiscal year 2009, Children’s Hospital provided $38.8 million in free and uncompensated care to children in need.

The top five corporate donors to the 2009 telethon were Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, Eat’n Park, GNC, McKamish, and Giant Eagle. The telethon was broadcast on KDKA-TV.

For more information about the Free Care Fund or to make a donation, visit Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation website at www.givetochildrens.org, or call the Foundation at (412) 586-6310 or 1-877-CHP-GIVE.

Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation is the sole fundraising arm of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. The Foundation exists to provide financial support for the hospital’s mission of excellence in patient care, teaching and research.

Contacts:
Christina Clinton Evans, 412-586-6319, christina.evans@chp.edu

Last Update
December 23, 2009

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