Credit Unions, Supporting Groups Debut Horticultural Therapy Suite For UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital

CLEVELAND, July 20, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Credit unions and University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital joined the 2016 Republican National Convention and RealClearPolitics to open a horticultural therapy suite in Angie's Rooftop Garden at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland. Today's ribbon cutting marks an end to the construction that credit unions funded earlier this spring to open a horticultural therapy suite in honor of the 2016 RNC, taking place in Cleveland.

The new horticultural therapy suite is an enhancement of Angie's Rooftop Garden at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland. Angie's Rooftop Garden is part of the Angie Fowler Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Institute.

A construction kick-off and volunteer day took place earlier this year to help transform the space into a horticultural therapy suite in Angie's Rooftop Garden. New equipment and activity centers in the suite will help the staff at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital address the special needs of hospitalized children and their families. Volunteers created glass mosaic tiles that are now hung in the suite to commemorate the project.

The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and RealClearPolitics honored the Republican National Convention by taking on the project. The effort represents a tradition of credit unions honoring cities that host the national party conventions with "leave-behind" projects which serve the local communities long after the conventions have left town. A similar project is being done for the children's hospital in Philadelphia, host of the Democratic National Convention. 

Janna Ryan, wife of House Speaker Paul Ryan, cut the ribbon with the help of UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital child patients and siblings Cordelia Willets, CC Willets and Constance Kammerer at today's event.

Representatives from CUNA, the Ohio Credit Union League, UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, the RNC and RealClearPolitics, along with special guests, were on hand for the event and discussed the importance of the event.

"Therapy options such as art and music have remarkable healing effects for our children.  Our Angie Fowler garden enables patients and families the opportunity to leave the indoor hospital environment, breathe fresh air, and experience healing effects of gardening and planting activities," said Patti DePompei, President of UH Rainbow Babies & Children's. "Part of our mission is to heal and that involves caring for the emotional and physical well-being of each child. This unique indoor horticultural therapy space allows us to add a wonderful new feature for our patients and their families. We are grateful the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and Ohio Credit Union League shared in our vision to expand our horticultural therapy services."

"We're delighted to have been doing such meaningful, long lasting projects at the National Party Conventions since 2000," remarked Rich Meade, Chief of Staff and COO of CUNA. "It's an honor to be able to work with local credit unions, RealClearPolitics and the Republican National Convention on such a meaningful and lasting endeavor that will impact the lives of children and their families for years to come."

"The Boy Scouts teach to always leave a site better than when you found it, and that is a motto we have striven to live up to since the Republican National Convention came to Cleveland," said Steve King, Chairman of the Committee on Arrangements for the RNC. "This horticultural therapy suite will leave a lasting positive impact on the Cleveland community for years to come."

"Thanks to the credit unions and UH Rainbow Babies & Children's we've had an opportunity to participate in something uplifting and important at this year's Republican National Convention," said RealClearPolitics co-founder and publisher Tom Bevan. "It's an honor to be a part of this continued partnership."

"This is a great opportunity to create an enduring example of how credit unions impact the lives of their members and their communities. With the help and support of many across the credit union movement, I'm proud that Ohio's credit unions will sprout a therapy retreat for the children throughout Ohio cared for at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital," said Paul Mercer, president/CEO of the Ohio Credit Union League.

Jane Portman, wife of U.S. Senator Rob Portman and Chair of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, said, "I'm here today because of my passion for Children's Hospitals – their mission is near and dear to my heart. This horticultural therapy suite is a wonderful asset to all patients and their families as they come for care. I'm pleased that the RNC partnered with credit unions and UH Rainbow Babies & Children's on this project to help make a long lasting difference in Cleveland."

The Ohio Credit Union League spearheaded fundraising by the credit unions and raised more than their target goal of $300,000, the amount needed to cover the costs of the project.

CUNA, credit unions in Pennsylvania and RealClearPolitics also are working with the Democratic National Convention Committee on a companion project for a wellness garden at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).  The ribbon cutting event will take place during the week of July 25-28 in Philadelphia. 

About UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital: Internationally renowned, UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital is a full-service children's hospital and pediatric academic medical center with experts in 16 medical divisions and 11 surgical specialties who offer nationally ranked care not available at other institutions in the region, including Northeast Ohio's only single-site provider of advanced maternal fetal medicine and neonatology services, and the Angie Fowler Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Institute dedicated to adolescent and young adult cancer treatment. As the primary pediatric affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the only Level I Pediatric Trauma Center in the region, UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital offers access to novel therapies, advanced technologies and clinical discoveries long before they are available nationwide. Rainbow pediatric specialists – all of whom also serve on the faculty at the School of Medicine – are engaged in today's most advanced clinical research and are widely regarded as the best in the nation – and in some specialties, the best in the world. Learn more at Rainbow.org.

About CUNA: With its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, Credit Union National Association (CUNA) serves America's credit unions, which are owned by more than 100 million consumer members. Credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives providing affordable financial services to people from all walks of life. For more information about CUNA, visit www.cuna.org or follow @CUNA on Twitter. For more information about credit unions, visit www.aSmarterChoice.org and follow @asmarterchoice on Twitter.

About Ohio Credit Union League: The Ohio Credit Union League, with offices in Columbus, is a state trade association representing 315 credit unions. Credit unions are not-for-profit financial institutions owned and democratically-controlled by their members. Ohio credit unions provide savings, loans, and other consumer financial services to 2.82 million members. To learn more, visit www.aSmarterChoice.org. 

About 2016 Republican National Convention: The 2016 Republican National Convention will be held at the Quicken Loans Arena from July 18-21, 2016.  Nearly 50,000 visitors are expected to come to the Cleveland area for the event, including delegates, alternate delegates, members of the media and other guests.  For more information about the 2016 Republican National Convention, please visit our website at www.convention.gop

About RealClearPolitics: RealClearPolitics is the trusted, non-partisan, convener in a content-rich media environment; thoughtfully curating the best coverage from every angle of the day's most critical issues. One of RCP's most notable features – the RCP Poll Average – is the most cited source for U.S. political polling information. The RCP Poll Average provides a more accurate read on the status of the election. The accuracy of the RCP Poll Average is unmatched and trusted enough to be used in campaign communication documents, as well as being widely cited by hundreds of news organizations, including: The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, FOX News, CNN and USA Today. With a wide array of news and analysis available online, insiders rely on RealClearPolitics as the authoritative source for reporting, commentary, and analysis on all sides of the pressing public policy issues coming to the fore in 2016 - and the politics surrounding those issues heading into, and beyond, the election cycle.

For more information, contact:

Katelyn McCarthy (UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital), 216-870-6321
Vicki Christner (Credit Union National Association) 202-508-6758
Kimberly Stewart (Ohio Credit Union League), 614-923-9748
Kirsten Kukowski (Republican National Convention), 216-556-3893
Meg Szabo (RealClearPolitics), 202-644-8784

Paid for by the Committee on Arrangements for the 2016 Republican National Convention. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
www.convention.gop.

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SOURCE 2016 Republican National Convention

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