March is a time for miracles at Valley Children's. Last week, more than 8,000 volunteers from 20 communities came out to support the children of the Central Valley on Kids Day. Once again we have received incredible support, and we are so grateful to our community for showing up, year after year, for this special event.

This past Tuesday evening on Kids Day, I had the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at Pete Beiden Field as the Bulldogs' baseball team took on USF. Fresno State had generously offered free tickets to any fan who brought in a Kids Day edition of The Fresno Bee. It was a great game and we are so grateful for their generous gesture in support of Kids Day. A special thank you to the Kids Day sponsors who appear below.

I am happy to share that, as of today, the team has counted more than $550,000 in Kids Day donations with a lot still to be counted. We anticipate having a final total to share by the end of next week. We are truly honored by this outpouring of support and know that we could not continue to treat the ill and injured children of the Central Valley without you. On behalf of the entire Valley Children's team, thank you.

Thank you to  Derek and David Carr for their amazing support to  Valley Children's  for Touchdown Challenge and Inside the Huddle last month. Derek Carr and his family spent time on February 16 with Touchdown Challenge members who supported  DC4KIDS  all season with donations of $100 per touchdown pass. Then on Saturday night, Derek and David Carr spoke for 90 minutes at Inside the Huddle, delighting fans with football commentary while raising funds for Valley Children's. We are so grateful for our partnership with the Carr family!

We were happy to recognize our local  Walmart  associates on February 23 as they celebrated 30 years of partnership with  Children's Miracle Network Hospitals , raising over $930 million for children's hospitals in North America during that time. During this past year's fundraising campaign, Walmart raised $232,000 to support  Valley Children's . Walmart has raised more than $3.5 million for Valley Children's Hospital since the inception of our partnership. Thank you to all of the Walmart associates and customers who made this possible!

Valley Children's celebrated the 13th annual National Pancake Day on February 27. From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., customers stopped by their local  IHOP to get a free short stack of pancakes in exchange for a donation to  Valley Children's Hospital!  Rob Saroyan (right), President of Valley Children's Healthcare Foundation, was live with Gilbert Magallon (center) from ABC30 sharing about National Pancake Day with a special guest: our mascot George. Since 2006, IHOP has raised more than $22 million though  Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Thank you to IHOP and everyone who donated on this special day!

To view the full calendar of events, click here.