Children's Hospital Campus to be Renamed Thanks to Transformational Ca...( BIRMINGHAM Ala. May 23 /- With th...),Health

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 23 /PRNewswire/ -- With the anticipated opening of a new facility in 2012 the Children's Hospital Campus will be renamed the Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children. The announcement was made today as part of the public launch of a major capital campaign in support of the pediatric medical center's proposed expansion facility.

Ben and Luanne Russell have pledged $25 million in support of Children's Hospital. The gift, the largest in the history of Children's Hospital, is part of the $100 million "Keeping Promises" Capital Campaign to help build a new facility on the hospital's downtown Birmingham campus. The new facility and campus will be named for Mr. Russell's grandfather Benjamin Russell (1876-1941). Mr. Ben, as he was known to all, was the early patriarch of the Russell family and a legendary entrepreneur who began many of the businesses that later generations of the Russell family have grown over the years. The Russell family has provided jobs and economic prosperity for thousands of Alabamians and their work has enhanced the beauty of the State dramatically.

The announcement was made by Children's Health System CEO, Mike Warren. "Ben and Luanne Russell's magnificent act of generosity is made by an extraordinary family and great friends of Alabama's children and Children's Hospital," said Warren. "Generations of Alabama children will benefit immeasurably from the new facilities and technologies that this and other transformational gifts will provide."

Speaking on behalf of his family, Ben Russell, Chairman of the Board of Russell Lands, said: "Luanne and I have long supported children's activities in this State through Children's Harbor, Children's Harbor Family Center at Children's Hospital and through my work as a member of the Board of Trustees of Children's Hospital for the past 10 years. We are pleased to be able to honor the memory of my grandfather, Benjamin Russell, by making this leadership gift which w
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