This year marks the ninth annual Make March Matter campaign, run by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) to benefit the comprehensive pediatric programs aiding infants, children and teenagers. Throughout the month, businesses in Santa Monica, Venice and the Westside have pledged their support to the campaign, making donations off of sales and introducing specialty items like interesting food and drink selections. The specials raise money for the hospital’s Children’s Fund, which CHLA Vice President of Development and Corporate Partnerships Dawn Wilcox said allows the East Hollywood location to “meet the greatest needs” of patients, since the hospital is a nonprofit endeavor.
“We have a large percentage of our population that doesn’t have any insurance or is on a government-sponsored program, and the reimbursement of those programs isn’t sufficient for actually covering the costs,” Wilcox said. “So philanthropy and the community is what helps us bridge that gap.”
Wilcox was the mastermind behind the campaign, inspired by CHLA’s butterfly logo to consider a springtime charitable partnership that touches on themes of hope and renewal. With 40 businesses signing up for the inaugural Make March Matter, that number has doubled in the years since the initial grassroots effort.
“It’s just been so meaningful to me to see how the community has adopted this campaign as their own, and people come up with their own creative ideas, their own way to promote … it’s making a difference,” Wilcox added.
Santa Monica has gotten in on the creativity, ranging from new partners to ones that have been with CHLA since the start. Returning champions of the children’s charity include top national partners like Panda Express, who take donations alongside purchases throughout March, as well as local eateries like Cobi’s, which will donate a portion of proceeds from Toasted Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich purchases to CHLA.
Other eatery endeavors are a $1 donation from Sweetfin for every guava lemonade bought, a portion of proceeds donated from special BBQ Chicken Pizza orders at Prince Street Pizza, and a 25% donation for each special edition Make March Matter donut bought at Randy’s Donuts.
After the food and drink, locals can get active during Make March Matter with two Santa Monica events. At the Proper Hotel, a portion of sales and management fees from yoga classes will be donated to CHLA. Meanwhile, the Third Street Promenade’s latest athletic haven PicklePop will be hosting a charity pickleball tournament on March 23 from 2pm to 5pm.
With about 80 partners in all, plus the ability to create a donation page through the Make March Matter website, Wilcox has had a lot to keep track of and does so by seeing the impacts of the campaign personally.
“I think what keeps us all so inspired every day is the mission of CHLA,” Wilcox said. “Once you’ve even just walked through our lobby, and you’ve seen the patients and families, you see the impact. That’s a big reason why I came [here] is because I realized I get to be up close to the impact of all the effort … sometimes people don’t ever see where [the funds go] … and I can just see it every day. I see it walking through the hospital, and I see it when a patient interacts with a therapy dog, or when a volunteer hands out a can of Play Doh, and a child smiles even though maybe they had a challenging day. You know, it’s just beautiful, and that’s what keeps us motivated and inspired and keeps us wanting to do more.”
For more information and to find out about more offers, visit MakeMarchMatter.org.