Welcome to September and the end of summer.
We have had an extremely busy summer at The Children’s Foundation and September will be no exception.
Trustee committees are actively putting together the first ever strategic plan for The Children’s Foundation. This will be presented to the full board at the September 23rd meeting and I look forward to communicating this dynamic plan to you all in next month’s update. It truly is an exciting time for The Foundation as we look toward the next several years.
We recently held the Fourth Annual Derby for Kids on Saturday, September 5th at the fabulous Country Club of Detroit. As we all know, this normally takes place in early May but with the COVID-19 environment, the Kentucky Derby was postponed until September.
We had a delightful evening with all activities taking place safely outside. The music was spectacular which included our friend Alexander Zonjic and his band along with the Motor City Horns. We also had a special guest appearance from Detroit’s own Danny D, a talented Rod Stewart impersonator!
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors including Leaders For Kids, DTE, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, MSX International, Clark Hill, and our hard-working Derby for Kids committee members. They continued to stay active and involved despite challenges presented by the pandemic.
It was particularly rewarding to me to hold an in-person event during these trying times. So many of us have been working remotely and hundreds of events have been canceled. You could sense that people were so pleased to be able to get together in person.
Derby for Kids successfully raised approximately $115,000 toward our commitment to the multi-institutional pediatric research project that includes Children’s Hospital of Michigan, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Hurley Medical Center, and Wayne State University.
Even though it was a smaller group this year, it may have been the most rewarding event we have had in a long time.
I hope you enjoy the last few weeks of summer and I look forward to keeping you posted on the many evolving plans of The Children’s Foundation as we continue our journey to be a state-wide community-based organization dedicated to supporting the health and wellness of children and families.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Lawrence J. Burns
President & CEO
