Transforming Lives, Building Dreams: Mtn. View Auto Group joins AHF Capital Campaign
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Feb. 9, 2021) – Mtn. View Auto Group donated $10,000 towards the newly launched Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer’s Capital Campaign: “Transforming Lives, Building Dreams.”
The Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer (AHFPC) has launched the public phase of its $3.2 million capital campaign with the goal to provide much-needed space for growth. The Education Advancement Center (EAC) offers 33,000 square feet to expand services such as occupational therapy, music therapy, and industrial arts therapy while maximizing current mental health and psycho-oncology services.
The importance of the work the foundation does is apparent when considering that childhood cancer survivors are 10.5 times more likely to have severe cognitive dysfunction than their peers. These deficits could be present before a cancer diagnosis, but they are often exacerbated by cancer treatment, time away from peers or formal education, or even the emotions a sibling is forced to deal with as they watch their sibling go through cancer. Because of the services the foundation provides, 97% of all children treated have reported improved academic success and 100% of all children have reported that they have increased confidence and obtained resources they need for success.
In 2020, AHFPC provided 2,891 service encounters and 3,871 hours of service, including various mental health and physical therapies, telehealth options, family programs, and more. The foundation’s licensed and highly trained clinical staff is equipped to provide for families facing the effects of a pediatric cancer diagnosis no matter the stage of life they are in. Services are offered in person, virtually, and in both English and Spanish.
“We are so excited that Mtn. View Auto Group is participating in our capital campaign launch,” said foundation President Amy Jo Osborn. “This campaign is vital to meet the needs of our patients. Through it, we can help raise patients’ school test scores, increase their physical mobility, improve their emotional well-being, and so much more. The new, larger EAC is giving us so much more space to build out our mission, and this campaign will truly allow us to transform the lives of the foundation’s families.”
Before the loss of their son in 2006, AHFPC co-founders, Jim and Amy Jo Osborn, were involved in raising funds and advocacy for families impacted by pediatric cancer nationwide. After losing Hatch to a very rare form of cancer, the Osborns were compelled to create a foundation that offers families the mental and physical treatment needed as they navigate through diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.
With the money raised through “Transforming Lives, Building Dreams,” the foundation intends to grow its services. By having additional space for new and current programs, the foundation is able to offer ways for individuals to improve their social, emotional, and physical well-being. Therapies focus on treating a different deficit from cancer treatment as patients navigate life during or following their cancer diagnosis.
Prior to donating to the Capital Campaign, Mtn. View Auto Group partnered with the foundation through the donation of vehicles for modification as part of the Industrial Arts Therapy program. They have also participated in other fundraising campaigns, such a Treads of Hope, donating a percentage of their profits from tires sold at the dealership.
“The Watson family and Mtn. View Auto Group are honored to continue our partnership with the Austin Hatcher Foundation,” said Clay Watson, President of Mtn. View Auto Group. “We’re thrilled that these funds will remain local, impacting families in their efforts to cope with pediatric cancer.”
The addition of this campaign will provide opportunities for the foundation’s staff to offer new services to patients and meet each individual’s evolving needs. By building capacity, the foundation works toward their mission to erase the effects of childhood cancer. To learn more about “Transforming Lives, Building Dreams,” or a tour of the new EAC please contact Amy Jo Osborn amyjo@hatcherfoundation.org.
