Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas recently shared their continued commitment to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles by pledging to join the First Families Legacy Program, a dedicated group of families and philanthropists who commit to gifting $100,000 or more to the hospital.  The news was shared during an event hosted by the couple at their private home to celebrate and honor other First Families.

The family also recently gave a $41,000 donation to purchase a GE Giraffe Warmer bed for the Newborn and Infant Critical Care Unit (NICCU).  During a tour, Melanie was moved to purchase the equipment, which is widely used to support the development of newborns by providing a temperature-controlled and protective environment.

Additionally, Melanie’s family sponsored a large patient family in the hospital’s “Holidays from the Heart” program, which helps those with limited financial resources have a special holiday celebration.  The experience inspired her daughter Stella to become a regular hospital volunteer, and the family has continued to donate clothes and other needed items to a year round program that supports hospital families.  Antonio’s nephew, who is in Los Angeles for the summer, has also begun volunteering at the hospital.

Melanie has also joined the committee for the 2012 Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Noche de Ninos gala, the hospital’s signature biannual fundraiser.

“We’re so inspired by the strength of the families and staff at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles,” says Griffith. “We have always wanted to get involved with a cause that truly has an impact, and here we have this incredible institution in our backyard with some of the best doctors and researchers in the world helping children.  People give for many reasons, but we feel there’s no more important cause than the children—they are our future.”

The family was formally introduced to the hospital in 2011 by close friend and voice of the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles radio and TV ad campaign, Jamie Lee Curtis.

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Filed under: Celebrities, Fundraising, Hospital Visitors, Miscellaneous on June 13th, 2012