Leslie Owens Campbell, Community Relations and Special Events Manager of the Friends of Children's of Mississippi Hospital spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s June 14 meeting. Ms. Campbell described the Friends organization's role as raising funds for the Hospital. Children’s of Mississippi was originally known as Blair Batson Hospital. It recently changed its name to Children’s Hospital of Mississippi to reflect that it is the only pediatric hospital in the state.
Per Ms. Campbell, the Mission of the Friends is ”we elevate the healthcare experience for children in Mississippi to create hope, smiles, and a place where patients can be kids.
Friends conducts many fundraising events during the year. Perhaps the best known is the Sanderson Farms Golf Championship, a professional golf tournament on the PGA tour that is played annually in the fall at the Country Club of Jackson. The tournament is hosted by the Century Club Charities of Mississippi which donates the proceeds of the tournament to Friends of Mississippi Children's Hospital who in turn donates those funds to the hospital. In 2021, the tournament donated $1.5 million to the hospital. Other events that Friends have include Enchanted Evening and Over the Edge with Friends. Enchanted Evening is an evening event presented by BankPlus that has raised about $300,000 annually. A new event is planned for 2022 to replace the Enchanted Evening. Per Ms. Campbell, the details on the new event will be forthcoming shortly. Over the Edge with Friends is an exciting event in which sponsored individuals are given the opportunity to rappel down a multistory building in Jackson.
Other events that Friends sponsors are The Trustmark Children’s Hospital Pro-Am Golf Tournament in October, Light a Light for Children which provides lights to brighten the hospital during the Holiday season, and Do Dah Day Patty Peck Honda New Car Give-Away which is a raffle conducted over the Holiday Season and into the New Year.
We thank Ms. Campbell for her presentation and for her work on behalf of Children’s of Mississippi. She is shown in the following photo following her presentation. Shown in the photo from the left are Club President Uriel Pineda, Ms. Campbell, Rotarians Neelam Goel, and Bill Osborne
