For 10 years, dedicated team members at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and Stanford University School of Medicine have raised funds to support a wide range of programs at our hospital through the giving campaign, It Starts With Us. As longtime participant Ekta Vyas, PhD, SHRM-SCP, says, “It presents us with great opportunities to support the care our hospital provides, and I am thankful to be part of this campaign.”
Ekta leads by example, not only as the Director of Human Resources for our hospital, but as an admirable donor. “Philanthropy plays a big role in supporting the mission of ensuring all children have access to extraordinary care,” she says. “Donor support makes our hospital a special place for our patients and their families.”
Part of the Stanford community for 13 years, Ekta participates in It Starts With Us as both a donor and volunteer. Ekta says philanthropy is incredibly important to her. Her parents were activists in their community and modeled deeply rooted values that Ekta continues to follow. “My parents had always supported causes,” she says. “They were big on women’s rights, they were big on education … I always had that inspiration.”
As part of It Starts With Us, hospital team members can choose an area that’s closest to their hearts or donate to our hospital’s area of greatest need: the Children’s Fund. Gifts of any size to the Children’s Fund support crucial family and community services, life-changing research, and care for families in our community regardless of financial circumstances. Thanks to supporters like Ekta, we saw an increase in participation during the campaign last year, with 778 team members donating, and 235 of those being new donors. Nearly 75 percent of employee donors directed their gift to the Children’s Fund.
We are so grateful to all the team members who participate in the annual It Starts With Us giving campaign. You make such a wonderful difference for the patients and families we serve.
Learn more about It Starts With Us and the Children’s Fund.