April is Matching Month for Campaign for Children’s of Mississippi

Published on Thursday, March 31, 2022

April is twice as nice for the Campaign for Children’s of Mississippi donors. All gifts up to a total of $500,000 will be matched all month long.

The Campaign for Children’s of Mississippi, the philanthropic drive to help fund construction of the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower at Children’s of Mississippi, has reached more than 95 percent of its $100 million goal. This matching opportunity, made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor, allows supporters to double the impact of their gifts and help push the campaign past its goal.

“The continuing generosity of Mississippians is both heart-warming and humbling,” said Meredith Aldridge, executive director of development at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. “So many Mississippians have made donations to this generational project, which is in turn helping children have the highest level of health care close to home. We’re grateful for each contribution and are looking forward to reaching our goal very soon.”

Children’s of Mississippi, UMMC’s pediatric arm, includes the state’s only children’s hospital as well as clinics around the state. The Sanderson Tower, a complement to the Batson Tower, includes a dozen state-of-the-art surgical suites, two floors of private neonatal intensive care rooms, larger pediatric intensive care rooms, two floors of specialty clinics for follow-up care, and an imaging center designed for children. Just like the doubled impact of April gifts, the Sanderson Tower more than doubled the space to care for children from across the state.

The campaign was launched in 2016 by Joe Sanderson, Sanderson Farms CEO and board chairman, and his wife, Kathy. The couple started the drive with a $10 million personal gift and chaired the effort. Aby and Eli Manning, who have partnered with the children’s hospital for many years, serve as co-chairs for this transformational campaign.

The $180 million Sanderson Tower, which more than doubled pediatric care space at UMMC, opened in November 2020. Since then, thousands of children have received advanced health care there.

All gifts to the Campaign for Children’s of Mississippi are part of UM Giving Day on April 5-6.

Gifts can be made online, by texting MSKIDS to 91999, or at Twice as Bright, an in-person donation drive set for April 28 from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the entrance of the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower at Children’s of Mississippi.