Jimmy Kimmel, Jamie Lee Curtis back LA children's hospital's $1.35bn drive

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has raised a record $1.35 billion through its 125th Anniversary Campaign, with the support of thousands of donors, including honorary campaign chairs Jimmy Kimmel, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sugar Ray Leonard and Chuck Lorre. This is the largest fundraising effort in CHLA’s history. The funds will help advance paediatric care, medical research and education for children and families.From one horseback visit to a global nameIn 1901, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles opened in a small house dedicated to children, and its first year brought 14 patients.

One physician led the work and travelled on horseback to reach young patients across the region. Today, the hospital oversees more than 750,000 patient visits a year, drawing families from across the United States and more than 90 countries. The change came in steps.

In 1930, its physicians performed the first paediatric heart surgery on the West Coast. In 1978, it built a comprehensive paediatric cancer programme, and it now runs one of the first and largest CAR T-cell therapy programmes in the country.