From the Atlanta Braves’ Blooper to the Chick-fil-A cow, Atlanta’s most iconic mascots are joining forces to celebrate next year’s opening of the Arthur M. Blank Hospital, an expansion Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta said it believes will create 1,000 new jobs for the local community. The health care provider’s own mascots — Hope and Will — will spearhead the event Thursday, Oct. 12.
Mercer University’s Toby the Bear, Novelis’ Can Man, Peach Bowl’s Huddles, Dunkin’ Donuts’ Cuppy, Home Depot’s Phil the Bucket, Georgia Tech’s Buzz, Chick-fil-A’s cow, the Aflac Duck, Atlanta Braves’ Blooper, Atlanta Falcons’ Freddie will be training with Hope and Will as the two climb 19 stories in order to reach the roof of the new hospital.
The Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta mascots will make the lengthy climb on foot for the “Hope and Will Climb for the Kids” event “to signify the strength and determination of our patients,” Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta said a news release. “From pumping iron to running laps with the help of their mascot friends, Hope and Will have been training and are ready for the climb.”
The Atlanta-based health care provider invited supporters to donate $19 for every story of the new hospital, which is “dedicated solely to making kids better today and healthier tomorrow.”
Supporters can donate to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in honor of the “Hope and Will Climb for the Kids” event by visiting here.
Scheduled to open in fall 2024, the Arthur M. Blank Hospital represents the largest health care project in Georgia’s history. The project began following a $200 million donation from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, which Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta named the “single largest naming gift to a freestanding pediatric hospital.”
The Atlanta-based health care provider has already invested $2.4 billion into the project, which will be supplemented by a projected $1 billion in raised funds by the “Never Settle: A Campaign for Kids” campaign. As of Sept. 28, the 5-year-long campaign has raised $862,931,000.
The 2 million-square-foot facility will be at the health care provider’s expanded North Druid Hills campus.
