Mercer AWLS Raises $20,000 for Local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital at Navicent

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MACON – Mercer Law’s Association of Women Law Students (AWLS) hosted its 20th annual Charity Gala and Auction March 9 at the Hargray Capitol Theatre in downtown Macon.

The gala raised $20,000 to benefit the local Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospital, the Beverly Knight Olson (BKO) Children’s Hospital at Navicent.

Over the past 20 years, AWLS has raised more than $200,000 to support local charities.

The gala included live music by Sue ‘n’ the Bastards, a band composed of Mercer Law professors. Ivy Cadle, ’07, of Baker Donelson, was the auctioneer for the event. Some of the auctioned items included a spa day package, a 40-inch HD television, tour packages of Georgia’s top breweries, dinner with Professor Michael Sabbath, private plane rides, a Bubba Watson signed Masters flag and a football signed by Kirby Smart.

“AWLS always chooses a local charity as the beneficiary of our annual charity auction, and we were excited to be able to add CMN to our long list of auction beneficiaries,” said AWLS Co-President Anna Mills, ’18. “We try to raise funds for a cause that our members and student body can really get behind and get excited about. Knowing that a few members of our executive board and some fellow students have personal ties to this cause made raising funds even more rewarding.”

The local chapter of CMN at the Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital relies upon fundraising efforts in order to provide care for kids, no matter their illnesses, injuries or ability to pay. On average, the hospital has approximately 45,000 pediatric patients a year and sees approximately 700 NICU babies per year. The NICU is not located in the children’s hospital due to available space and is located in the regular hospital. Currently, there’s not a separate children’s emergency room, meaning all children have to go to the adult emergency room and wait to be transferred to another wing with pediatric doctors.

Navicent Children’s Hospital covers all pediatric patients from Atlanta to Gainesville, Florida, because it’s the only children’s hospital south of Atlanta that has all of the resources most patients need. The hospital’s new project currently under construction, nicknamed “Hope Tower,” is expected to be completed next spring. It is an $82 million project, including an additional $4.2 million left to raise, which is what the $23,550 raised from the AWLS auction will support.