A pledge of $1 million from the Hall Family Foundation to the Foundation for Shawnee Mission Medical Center will help bring a new, state-of-the-art facility to the health system’s Merriam campus.
The gift will go toward construction of the new B.E. Smith Family Center, which will house an Early Learning Center for the children of health system employees, and the Lee Ann Britain Infant Development Center, which provides therapeutic interventions and education opportunities for children with developmental challenges.
With the gift, the foundation has raised nearly $15 million of its current $20 million fundraising goal for the new facility. Shawnee Mission Health announced plans in spring 2016 to build a new facility for the Britain Center. It announced a lead gift from Doug and Nan Smith last March. The foundation also raised more than $1 million from its Tiny Tim Holiday Fantasy event last year.
“The journey of raising a child with special needs is an overwhelming experience,” said Lou Gehring, senior executive director of the Foundation for SMMC. “Thanks to the Hall Family Foundation, we will now be able to embrace even more families in our community, enabling them to help their children grow to reach their full potentials. We are grateful for their generous investment in the B.E. Smith Family Center.”
