AUSTIN, Texas — The Dell Children’s Foundation is getting a $1 million donation from Kendra Scott to help its “Here” campaign.
The $90 million campaign, which includes a $30 million match from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, will help support a $700 million expansion project at Ascension to add medical specialists, technology and buildings to Dell Children’s Medical Center.
According to KVUE’s media partners at the Austin American-Statesman, half of Scott’s donation will come from her Austin-based jewelry company, while the other half will come from her personal foundation.
Scott will also help create a new event center at the children’s hospital, the Kendra Scott Child Life Event Center, to open this spring.
"It will be more than just a room," Scott told the Statesman, saying she wants it to be a beautiful space for patients to play. "How can we as a company bring light and joy? It's what we do best."
"It's really going to impact how we can do programming and how we can reach families," said Kimberly Stephens, director of child life and expressive therapies at Dell Children's.
The space will provide a permanent studio for Dell Children’s TV, an in-house daily program, and be located on the main floor near the three towers to be accessible to patients, the Statesman reports.
Dell Children’s is continuing to expand after opening a specialized labor and delivery unit in July for high-risk babies.
In May, the hospital broke ground on a new North Austin hospital in Williamson County. Once completed, the new hospital will sit on 34 acres at Avery Ranch Boulevard. It will total at around 185,000 square feet, include 36 beds and emergency/trauma services, two operating rooms, endoscopy and procedure rooms, sleep labs and space for future growth. That project, along with a fourth tower at the main East Austin hospital, is expected to be completed in November.
The idea of the Here campaign is to provide support for specialized care in Central Texas, rather than families having to travel to Dallas or Houston. The campaign hopes to reach its fundraising goal by July 2023.
Scott’s donation will be announced at Saturday’s Dell Children’s Foundation virtual gala to benefit the Here campaign.
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