Mabee Foundation gives $2 million to Arkansas Children’s Northwest

Arkansas Children’s Northwest has received a $2 million challenge grant from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation to support its expansion project, according to a Thursday (Jan. 2) news release.

The funding marks the continuation of a 37-year partnership between Arkansas Children’s and the Midland, Texas-based Mabee Foundation, with total grants exceeding $8 million over the decades.

“This grant is very exciting for Arkansas Children’s because it means we have met the challenge and have had great momentum from the incredible generosity of our community,” said Fred Scarborough, executive vice president and chief development officer at Arkansas Children’s. “We are so grateful for Mabee Foundation’s vision as we advance pediatric health care in the region.”

Little Rock-based health care system Arkansas Children’s is undergoing a $318 million expansion project that also includes Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.

John and Lottie Mabee established the Mabee Foundation in 1948. Over the past 75 years, the foundation has awarded more than $1.6 billion in grants to nonprofits in six states, including Arkansas.

“John Mabee once said he felt it was his duty to help others by giving when he knows it will do good,” said Mike Goeke, executive director of the Mabee Foundation. “He also wanted nonprofits to thrive, and the challenge grants that resulted from that desire have helped many organizations build their donor bases in ways that not only benefitted them in the present but benefitted them far into the future. We know he and Lottie would be proud to see the thousands of projects that have enriched the lives of others and improved the financial health of many organizations through their generosity.”

Arkansas Children’s Northwest in Springdale is a 24-bed pediatric hospital with a surgical unit containing five operating rooms and a pediatric emergency department with 30 exam rooms. It also operates outpatient clinics offering more than 20 subspecialties, diagnostic services, imaging capabilities and occupational therapy services.