Akron Children’s unveils new campus signage and launches $250M ‘Come Grow With Us’ campaign after $50M gift

What happened

Akron Children's publicly launched its Come Grow With Us campaign on Sept. 10 with a campus signage unveiling that honored Tom Golisano after his $50 million gift. The event mixed celebration and fundraising visibility: patients, families, hospital leaders, medical staff, employees, donors, and community members attended. Costumed characters including Spiderman, Batman, and the Hulk were part of the high-profile signage reveal.

Why the event matters

Golisano's $50 million donation is the largest in the hospital's history and helped raise the campaign target to $250 million. The fundraising drive has reached $140 million so far. Hospital leaders framed the campaign as a vehicle to scale services across the region and to deepen investments in specific clinical and operational priorities.

Campaign priorities and concrete goals

Come Grow With Us is positioned to support measurable program areas:

• Expanded pediatric specialty care across the system.
• Behavioral health services, including inpatient care and community supports.
• Nursing excellence initiatives.
• Community health programs to reach more children closer to home.
• Patient and family engagement to improve experience and outcomes.

Shelly Brown, Akron Children's chief development officer, said the campaign will "help us achieve our strategic priorities in a bigger way by treating more people and being present in more communities." Chris Gessner, president and CEO, emphasized the role of philanthropy in enabling new services and growth.

Recent and planned expansions

Akron Children's described recent geographic and clinical growth that the campaign will accelerate. Recent expansions include new or expanded services in Medina, Montrose, Marietta, and Belpre. The system also opened a new autism center and an inpatient behavioral health unit, increasing specialized care available to children and families.

Patient and family perspective

Patient Josie Greco, who has been with Akron Children's since birth, spoke at the event about the hospital's personal importance to families. She said Akron Children's is more than a place for medical care and noted the value of consistent connections with staff. Her remarks were used to demonstrate the campaign's focus on both access and the patient experience.

How the gift changed the campaign

Event presentation and outreach

Attendees received campaign T-shirts and watched a ceremonial button press to reveal the new signage. The mix of ceremony, patient stories, leadership remarks, and visible donor recognition was designed to generate community momentum and public awareness for the campaign.

Bottom line

Akron Children's used the signage unveiling to publicize a major philanthropic milestone and push momentum for a $250 million campaign that is already more than halfway to its goal. The campaign aligns fundraising with recent clinical expansions and explicit priorities meant to broaden access to pediatric specialty and behavioral health services across the region.