FedEx Freight gifts $100,000 to Arkansas Children’s Hospital

FedEx Freight in Harrison recently announced a donation of $100,000 to Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) to support the care of abused and neglected children. The money, which will be paid over three years, will provide funding for the new Children’s House, a single, safe place where patients and families can receive needed services in a child-friendly, multidisciplinary setting. The building is set to open in 2016.

This approximately $7.8 million, 23,000-square-foot facility will provide several services, including: medical care by board-certified specialists in child abuse; individual, family and group therapy; long-term psychiatric treatment; and support through the law enforcement and legal processes of abuse investigations.

“I am extremely honored to represent FedEx Freight as we join the Arkansas Children’s Hospital in making Children’s House a reality,” says Pat Reed, executive vice president and chief operating officer of FedEx Freight.  “We have had a strong alliance with this wonderful organization for many years, and we are proud to support the communities we serve.”
 
Children’s House will also enable ACH to better train the next generation of child maltreatment specialists.

“Our goals for the new Children’s House are to meet the needs of abused children in our state more effectively; minimize the trauma that these children experience; and provide a safe place where children can feel comfortable, protected and safe,” says Dr. Jerry G. Jones, medical director of the ACH Team for Children at Risk. “With this dream realized, we can set a new standard for care of abused children and their families.”

As a long-time donor to ACH, FedEx has supported other projects at the hospital including the South Wing, an expansion to both inpatient and outpatient space that opened in 2012.

This gift from FedEx is being celebrated as part of the ACH Century of Possibility Centennial Campaign. Through the fundraising campaign, the hospital has set a goal to raise $160 million to support pediatric care, research, education and prevention, and has already raised $148 million. The campaign will conclude on Dec. 31.