22nd annual Children's Star Gala nets more than $2.2 million to support the care of moms and babies

MINNEAPOLIS, May 1, 2013  /PRNewswire/ -- More than 1,000 people filled The Historic Milwaukee Road Depot on Saturday, April 27 and raised more than $2.2 million for The Mother Baby Center, a partnership between Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, the largest neonatal program in the region, and Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minnesota's largest obstetrical center. The event broke a previous fundraising record set in 2012. The evening was complete with silent and live auctions, inspirational stories from patient families and doctors, as well as dinner and dancing.

Included in the night's total was more than $900,000 raised during "Fund-a-Need," a way to fund a specific area of need within Children's. For this year's event, Fund-A-Need went to support rooms within The Mother Baby Center. These rooms will provide babies and families with the best specialists, equipment and services available.

The Mother Baby Center opened its doors on February 4 and is one of only a few centers in the country to offer a comprehensive approach to mom and baby care, beginning at prenatal and continuing through obstetrics, perinatology, labor and delivery, neonatology and pediatrics.

"Thanks to the generosity of the Twin Cities community, the 2013 Children's Star Gala was an enormous success," said Theresa Pesch, president of the Foundation of Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. "At Children's, we rely on the generous support of the community and those in attendance have made a lasting difference for the moms and babies we care for everyday."

During the event, guests were treated to a harp performance by 10-year-old former preemie Emily Jono and her father. Emily was born at 28 weeks gestation and weighed less than two pounds. Her family is thankful she is alive today due to the care she received at Children's.

The audience was also deeply moved by parents Nick and Sara Windschitl and the story of the premature birth of their twin girls, Nora and Bryn; brought into the world at just 27 weeks gestation. The Windschitl's spent the subsequent four months in the neonatal intensive care unit at Children's before bringing home two happy, healthy baby girls.

KARE11 meteorologist Belinda Jensen once again served as event emcee.

More information on Children's Star Gala, including event photos and videos, can be found at www.childrensMN.org/stargala.

Major sponsors of Children's Star Gala included: Whitebox Mutual Funds, Ryan Companies, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, Great Clips, and UnitedHealth Group.

About Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

Serving as Minnesota's children's hospital since 1924, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota is one of the largest pediatric health care organizations in the United States, with 381 staffed beds at its two hospitals in St. Paul and Minneapolis. An independent, not-for-profit health care system, Children's of Minnesota provides care through more than 12,000 inpatient visits and more than 300,000 emergency room and other outpatient clinic visits every year. Children's is the only Minnesota hospital system to provide comprehensive care exclusively to children. Please visit childrensMN.org.

SOURCE Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota