Every time a customer pays for food at a Panda Express, they’re asked if they’d like to round up their bill for charity. At Carilion Children’s, those small donations have helped fund a mini rock-climbing wall, swinging monkey bars and other equipment used by children receiving physical and occupational therapy.
The equipment is part of the new Panda Cares Center of Hope, a play area and therapy space at the back of the pediatric therapy gym at Carilion Children’s Tanglewood Center.
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Carilion Children’s is the Children’s Miracle Network hospital for Southwest Virginia, said Macy Ware, director of Children’s Miracle Network at the Carilion Clinic Foundation, during a Tuesday ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new space.
The Children’s Miracle Network is a nonprofit organization that raises money for children’s hospitals across North America. The network partners with Panda Express and other businesses to fund services for children at certain hospitals.
The new Panda Cares Center of Hope includes a small space where kids can color or play with tactile toys.
“We want to be able to provide a center or space for families and siblings to really enjoy their time here. You know, be kids while they’re going through treatment,” said Nadine Uscilowska, area coach of operations at Panda Restaurant Group, during Tuesday’s event.
Panda Express, through its philanthropic arm, the Panda Cares Foundation, has pledged $500,000 over the next eight years to support the pediatric therapy gym. It has taken two to three years to raise money for the donation, Uscilowska said.
Previous donations helped fund a lift system last year that helps kids build the muscle strength needed to stand independently, said Amy Kageals, assistant vice president for the department of pediatrics at Carilion.
The lift can be used to help children with conditions including cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and spinal cord injuries, she said.
Much of the equipment in the pediatric gym has been funded through the partnership with Panda Express, Kageals said, pointing to pool noodles, inflatable hopper animals, treadmills and other equipment throughout the room.
The gym combines toys and traditional exercise equipment because Carilion Children’s treats patients ranging in age from infants to 18-year-olds. Many also have complex medical needs, so physical and occupational therapists use a wide range of tools to help them develop strength, coordination and mobility. Insurance typically does not cover all of the equipment therapists use, Kageals said.
Among those attending the ribbon-cutting was 4-year-old Madi Spencer, who has spent much of her life receiving care at Carilion Children’s.
Madi is the 2026 “champion” for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals of Southwest Virginia.
Madi was born during an emergency breech delivery, with her feet rather than her head positioned at the birth canal, according to her mom, Sarah Spencer. Madi was not breathing when she was born and spent her first month in the neonatal intensive care unit. When she went home, she had a feeding tube.
About 10 days later, Madi returned to the emergency room. Doctors performed exploratory surgery and discovered that her intestines had failed to rotate and position themselves correctly in her abdomen during development. About half of her small intestine was removed, Spencer said.
Madi was in the hospital for 144 days and had four surgeries.
For the first year and a half of her life, Madi’s parents brought her to Carilion Children’s Tanglewood facility for speech and physical therapy. She has since graduated from therapy.
“She is completely caught up to her milestones. She is doing well, but we’re grateful to know they’re [the Carilion team is] always here,” Spencer said. “When you spend so much time with people who love your child and want everything for your child and want to help, you really make bonds. They mean so much to you. You know that they’re there for you.”
