Other Initiatives
Children’s Healthcare also receives help from local Hispanic-owned businesses, such as bakery and ice cream shop Lo Mejor de Michoacán, as well as grocery stores Super Mercado Carrillo and Super Mercado Jalisco. Radio stations La Raza and La Mega also organize a two day fundraising marathon every autumn.
At just 18 months of age, Sebastián Sacerdoti was diagnosed with a tumor that covered 70 percent of the right side of his brain.
The prognoses were guarded, as usually occurs in these cases. For nine hours, Sebastián battled in an operating room at the Scottish Rite branch of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, after which he was placed into a medically induced coma for two weeks, in order to give his brain time to properly recover.
Chances of survival were minimal, which is why when Sebastián awoke from his coma the hospital referred to him as a “miracle baby.”
Thanks to his story, a group of seven Latina women, led by Sebastián’s mother, María Gabriela Busato, decided in February 2013 to form Mujeres (Women) for Children’s. Through volunteer opportunities, fundraisers and special events, the women provide awareness and financial support for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
It is the fifth initiative taken on by the Hispanic community to benefit CHOA, which tends to children in Georgia and other areas, regardless of a family’s ability to pay for services. According to CHOA, 22 percent of its patients are Latino children.
One of the group’s main fundraising events is its annual Bowl-a-Thon, which took place for the second time Sept. 27. There, some 150 participants - among them adults and children - gathered to bowl and support CHOA’s work. Money raised ($3,440) will be used specifically to support the Children’s Physican Group, a multispecialty pediatric physician practice considered to be the largest of its kind in Georgia. More than 475 physicians in the group are employed by CHOA or serve as members of the pediatric faculty at the Emory University School of Medicine.
Funds from the Bowl-a-Thon will directly benefit the CPG center at Plaza Fiesta, a location commonly frequented by the Hispanic community –95 percent of the clients, according to CHOA.
“We are delighted to see that the second Mujeres for Children’s Bowl-a-Thon is shaping up to be yet another successful fundraiser,” said Dr. Vivian Lennon, who oversees operations at Plaza Fiesta’s CPG center. “The Children’s Physician Group - Primary Care provides service to many families every month and that number continues to grow. Through the support of events like the Mujeres for Children’s Bowl-a-Thon, we can help expand our facilities and improve our services.”
In addition, Mujeres for Children’s held an art class for hospitalized children, with the help of artist Armando Villalón.
“As a mother, I know that at some point I could need CHOA’s services for my children. This is a renowned organization in the United States, that has an open door policy, that doesn’t turn down children or patients who don’t have insurance,” said Ada Pérez, one of the seven women who make up the committee.
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