Regions Bank 2015 Annual Report Download - page 21

Bill Horton of Regions Bank serves on Children’s
Board of Trustees, and was preceded in that role by
Regions Chairman and CEO Grayson Hall. The bank’s
philanthropic support for the medical center’s mis-
sion goes back decades. Children’s is the primary
philanthropic beneficiary of the Regions Tradition
golf tournament, a Senior PGA Champions Tour event.
During Regions’ tenure as sponsor $1 million has been
raised for Children’s by the tournament. Proceeds are
directed to the medical center’s Impact Fund, which is
utilized to finance needs that have significant impact
on the care of children but that fall outside the normal
budgeting process. Recalls Mike, the head of cardiovas-
cular surgery came to see me and said that he needed
Strengthen Communities (continued)
to enhance our heart trans-
plant capabilities by purchas-
ing a Berlin Heart, which is a
$100,000 device that’s used as a
bridge to keep a child alive until
we can find a suitable heart for
a transplant. It was not in the
budget, but we reached into the
Impact Fund to buy a Berlin
Heart and an additional one
as a spare. A number of chil-
dren are alive today because of
this life-saving device. Another
example is we were able to
invest about $100,000 in a soft-
ware program that allows our
neurosurgeons to map the brain
of a child having a seizure.
Using that technology to iden-
tify the place where the seizure
is being caused and surgically
treat that area. For children that
are candidates, about 80 per-
cent are tremendously helped
by this surgery, and some even
cured. Those are two great
examples of why the Impact
Fund, and Regions’ support
for it, are so important.”
One of the highlights of the holiday season at Children’s
is the Sugar Plum Shop, an activity that is sponsored
by Regions and staffed by its associates. It was created
to bring a little bit of the holidays to kids who have to
be in the hospital as well as their siblings and their
families. Parents can “shop” for complimentary gifts
arranged by age and gender, and associate volunteers
spend time with each parent while other associates
wrap the gifts. Notes Mike, “It’s done in such a thought-
ful way, so those parents leave walking a little lighter,
feeling a little better about the fact that they have to
have a child in the hospital during the holidays. It is
a reminder that when you hear Regions talk about
the importance of relationships, the proof is not just
in words, it is found in the actions that are taken.
That’s why it is so impressive to see literally hundreds
of Regions employees volunteering in any number of
ways that benefit Children’s during the course of the
year. It’s a whole lot more than a banking relationship.
It’s even more than a philanthropic relationship.
There is a connection there that is not only import-
ant to Children’s, but also, it sends a signal that is
important to the entire community.”
Children’s is the primary
philanthropic beneciary of the
Regions Tradition golf tournament, a
Senior PGA Champions Tour event.
During Regions’ tenure as sponsor
$1 million has been raised for
Children’s by the tournament.”
“
Children’s of Alabama, Main Campus, Birmingham, AL
Each year
serving
states
counties
million
people
48
67
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Regions 2015 Annual Review21 Perspective Regions