Desert Financial Donates Another $3 Million to School at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Making it the Program’s Largest Donor Ever
While, for some kids, time off from school is a dream come true, many patients at Phoenix Children’s Hospital want nothing more than to attend classes and regain a sense of normalcy in their lives. A program that helps them do exactly that now has another $3 million at its disposal, thanks to a generous donation from Desert Financial Credit Union.
Desert Financial, Arizona’s largest credit union, not only made good on a past promise to donate $2 million to Phoenix Hospital’s “1 Darn Cool School” program,” but it also upped the ante by donating another $3 million to the cause. To date, Desert financial has donated a total of $10 million to the school program, making it its single-largest donor ever.
“‘1 Darn Cool School’ is an important part of the treatment process for so many patients at Phoenix Children’s,” said Desert Financial Executive Vice President Ron Amstutz “We’ve had a great year at Desert Financial, and felt that paying our success forward to such an incredible program – one rooted in education, just like our credit union – would be a wonderful match.”
Launched in 1985, Phoenix Children’s Hospital’s 100% philanthropically funded “1 Darn Cool School” gives patients who stay at the hospital for 10 days or longer an opportunity to continue their education and avoid falling behind in school. It also helps restore a sense of normalcy to the lives of children facing significant health hurdles and gives them a chance to learn under the eye of highly trained teachers, all of whom hold a master’s degree or higher.
“Desert Financial Credit Union’s commitment to the children and families at Phoenix Children’s speaks volumes about their culture of generosity and community spirit,” said Phoenix Children’s Hospital Senior Vice President and Chief Development OfficerSteven Schnall. “We’re profoundly grateful for this latest gift, and for their continued partnership.”
The latest in a long line of donations made by Desert Financial, the “1 Darn Cool School” donation comes on the heels of several other notable gifts to the community. The credit union recently gave $125,000 to Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona, and it also matched $80,000 raised during a November turkey drive by St. Mary’s Food Bank.
