CAMPAIGN FOR COTTAGE HEALTH SYSTEM PAST HALFWAY MARK
The $100 million Campaign for Cottage Health System surpassed the significant halfway benchmark with a major gift from Santa Barbarans Herb and Bui Simon. In recognition of their donation, the Labor and Delivery Suite at the new Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital will be named for the Simons. At their request, the specific amount of the gift was not disclosed.
Herb Simon is the co-chair and director of the Simon Property Group, a real estate investment trust engaged in retail property – primarily regional malls, Premium Outlet centers, and community shopping centers. The company is headquartered in Indianapolis where the Simons also have a home. Mr. Simon’s diversified business interests also include co-ownership of the National Basketball Association’s Indiana Pacers.
Bui Simon, who was named Miss Universe in 1988, has a long history of philanthropic involvement with underserved children in her native Thailand. She spent 15 years as a spokesperson for UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund and is the founder of Angel Wings Foundation. The organization currently is involved with a wide range of needs including rebuilding efforts and creative opportunities for children orphaned by the December 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia.
The Simons also support a wide range of other philanthropic causes, including the Simon Youth Foundation headquartered in Indianapolis. The foundation works to foster and improve educational opportunities, career development and life skills for at-risk youth throughout the United States.
“Children are such a priority to the Simons,” said Ron Werft, president and chief executive officer for Cottage Health System. “Naming the Labor and Delivery Suite at the new Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for them is a way to celebrate their generosity with the birth of each new baby we welcome to our community.”
The $100 million Campaign for Cottage Health System was established to support the building of the new Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital which is scheduled for completion in late 2012. The project is expected to run $550 million, and there are no federal, state or local funds available to assist with costs.
The not-for-profit Cottage Health System, the parent organization of Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and its associated Cottage Children’s Hospital, Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital, and Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital, is guided by a volunteer board of directors from the greater Santa Barbara community. Last year, the hospitals provided inpatient care for 20,000 people, treated 61,000 patients through their 24-hour emergency departments and helped deliver 2,800 newborns. With a staff of more than 2,400, Cottage is the largest private employer in the County.
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September 2006
