ATLANTA (Dec. 19, 2018) – Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Touchdowns for Children’s (T4C), a fundraising campaign created by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Peach Bowl, Inc., encouraged college football fans to commit a donation every time their favorite team scored a touchdown this season.
Fans rooting for teams across the nation stepped up to the challenge and exceeded the goal of $250,000, raising a combined $303,109. Thanks to a generous match by Peach Bowl, Inc., a total of $606,218 in proceeds will benefit pediatric patients at Children’s.
Eli Hummer is a 12-year-old patient at Children’s and a huge football fan. Eli, who is nonverbal and blind, has undergone multiple open heart surgeries, but that does not hold him back from cheering on the University of Michigan football team with his alumnus dad. Eli can often be found humming Michigan’s fight song “Hail the Victors” during football season as he roots on the Wolverines.
“For the first two years of his life, he was having about one surgery a month. We were pretty much living at Children's Egleston Hospital,” said Martha Hummer, Eli’s mom. “Music is a big part of his life and he loves to listen to music. There’s a lot that he can’t do, but there’s some really cool things he can do.”
Watching how the care team at Children’s treated not only Eli but the entire Hummer family inspired Martha to return to school and become a nurse. She now works at Egleston Hospital, where she pays it forward by showing other families in the hospital the same kindness and compassion she received during Eli’s stays.
The upcoming Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl game on Dec. 29 will be a spirited family rivalry for the Hummers. Martha attended the University of Florida, which will be facing off against her husband’s alma mater, the University of Michigan. Thanks to Peach Bowl, Inc., the Hummer family, along with two other Children’s patient families, will watch the game from inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
During the game, University of Georgia fans will be recognized for donating the most of any team, with a total of $85,614, and will receive the Anna Charles Hollis Trophy. The trophy was named in honor and remembrance of the daughter of Peach Bowl, Inc. Vice President of Sales Benji Hollis.
“This is a cause that truly hits home to everyone within our organization, and one that we’re extremely passionate about,” said Gary Stokan, CEO of Peach Bowl, Inc. “It’s been an exciting year of college football, filled with game-changing plays and moments that defined the season. Now, we’re proud to be able to make a play by giving back so that we can find a way to beat pediatric cancer and help other pediatric patients in need.”
In its first two years, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl T4C campaign has raised a total of $886,576.
“We’re grateful to the many college football fans who contributed and especially thankful for our friends at Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl who have embraced this program and matched every dollar contributed,” said Scott Hodoval, Vice President of Development for the Children’s Foundation.