Children's Hospital Central California

Modesto Gives BackTwo prominent leaders embrace Children’s.Children’s Hospital Central California has been a part of lifein Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced Counties for years,relationships cemented in the past decade as the Hospitaland its physician partners opened outpatient centers inMerced and Modesto. But that’s not how the Gallo namebecame associated with the Hospital.That happened when these communities adopted Children’swhole-heartedly and began raising funds for the notfor-profitHospital. Two leaders emerged in the fight tohelp Valley kids - Gallo family members Greg and JessicaColeman. Greg serves as Vice President of Grower Relationsfor Gallo Family Vineyards, and the Colemans are foundingmembers of the Hospital’s highly successful black-tiefundraiser, the Harvest Ball. They have each served as officerson one of Children’s two major boards - Jessica on theFoundation Board of Directors, and Greg on the Hospital’sBoard of Trustees. Greg is the incoming Board of TrusteesChair, the first from Stanislaus County.“People don’t realize what they have right here in their ownbackyard,” said Jessica. “There are so many talented andcaring people that work at the Hospital. The doctors aresuper knowledgeable and there are so many subspecialtiesthere that you can’t get anywhere else. We’ve always had avery pleasant experience there with our kids and there’s noother place we’d rather take them.”Living in the Modesto area means they have many choiceswhen it comes to pediatric health care, including going toSacramento or the Bay Area. The Colemans understand thebenefits of having one of America’s largest children’s hospitalsjust down the 99, though. They’d rather make the drive south,where the people are friendly, the facility rivals any inthe nation, and the quality and expertise are proven.“It’s just a fabulous place,” she said. “In the Bay Area youget all the hustle and bustle and it’s just not a very pleasantexperience. Children’s Hospital is located out in the country,it’s a beautiful facility and the doctors are wonderful.”But the trip is often traveled without the kids. Throughinvolvement in their respective Boards and planning forother Hospital fundraisers, the couple are frequent flierson Highway 99. Back home in Modesto, Greg and Jessicahave also initiated a grass roots effort to raise awareness forChildren’s in their community. The campaign includes toursof Children’s to introduce Stanislaus and San Joaquin countyresidents to the facility, and Jessica has thrown herself intoGreg and Jessica Coleman.the Color the Skies Hot Air Balloon Festival that benefitsChildren’s Hospital.Jessica founded Color the Skies in 2006. The annual festivaltakes place on Labor Day Weekend in Mistlin SportsPark and features activities and performances for families,and a 5K run. The sky is filled with balloons, and allproceeds from parking, breakfast, merchandise and rafflesales benefit Children’s. As Jessica has a habit of saying, “It’sa little about balloons and a lot about Children.”“This is a great way of bonding with this community,”says Christopher Long, Children’s Executive Director ofCommunications and Advocacy. “You can’t take care of acommunity’s kids if you don’t get to know their families.With this event we prove that we all have something specialto give to each other.”“We give because we feel like Children’s is a diamond in ourcommunity,” Jessica said. “This Hospital is here for everyone,and we should all take a part in it and make sure it’s here forfuture generations. For Greg and me, there’s no other placewe’d rather give our time, money and energy than to helpkids get better.”The Colemans are leading philanthropists in the Modestoarea and contribute to many causes. Elevating goodstewardship through philanthropy is one of the family’smission statements, and a value that Jessica firmly believes in.“There’s a difference between being wealthy and prosperous,”she said. “It’s a great feeling to be able to have somethingand give it away freely. It makes your life better and it makesother’s lives better. When you give back, you get back a lotmore. That’s when you become truly prosperous.”COLOR THE SKIESLabor Day Weekend • Saturday & Sunday • Mistlin Sports Park • Ripon, CAEvent kicks off at 5 a.m. with a Pancake BreakfastFor more information you may contact: Peggy Dunlap 559.353.7108or visit www.colortheskies.com.Children’s Hospital Central California | 7>>