Miracle Monday: Local Panda Express helping make a difference for families at CHOG
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - One local woman is sharing her story after her little girl had to go to the Children’s Hospital of Georgia.
Tammi Kamae is the general manager of Panda Express in Evans, which just so happens to be a partner of the children’s hospital, raising funds in of the kids who go there.
Kamae is now reminding others why having this hospital here at home matters.
Nine-month-old Mahina was born four weeks early and had to spend a few days in the NICU.
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We met with two-year-old Hudson and his mom, who says having this hospital right in their backyard is a blessing.
“After being discharged a day later, we were doing her routine checkup,” said Kamae, general manager at Pander Express. “Her vitals were a little low, so we were sent to the Children’s Hospital of Georgia for treatment and observation.”
Kamae says Mahina only had to spend a day at the Children’s Hospital of Georgia, but it was what happened after that that really touched her. She noticed the playground inside the hospital.
“There’s a little boy and girl playing there and I’m just in awe this is here on the floor for them and then looking up at the banner it said brought to you by Panda Express’s Panda Care Foundation in partnership with the Children’s Miracle Network, so I snapped a picture to share with my team when I got back,” said Kamae.
Being the general manager there, she says one of Panda Express’s core values is giving.
“Something like this is easy,” said Kamae. “It’s something as simple as our associates asking for a donation at the end of a meal. Change adds up easily, and it all goes a long way in that campaign of giving.”
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Nearly 40,000 babies are born with heart defects in the U.S. each year.
These donations thousands of children who come to receive care at the children’s hospital.
“They were friends, and they try to make you feel as comfortable as possible, which is what I really loved about it,” said Kamae “Now when I share my story with my team, they can share it with different guests coming in and it gives them a new appreciation for what we have in our own backyard.”
Mahina is doing great and has not had to go back to the children’s hospital.
Her mom says she is a busybody who knows what she wants.
Donations like the ones made at Panda Express really are helping to make a difference for families at CHOG. Last year, Panda Express in Evans raised more than $37,000 for the hospital.
Those donations stay local and the Children’s Hospital of Georgia.
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