Oak Brook, Ill.,
18
January
2019
|
13:16 PM
America/Chicago

The Ace Hardware Foundation Announces Seventh-Annual Ace Cares for Kids All-Star

Michigan’s Desmond Davis named “All-Star” at special Myers Elementary School event

The Ace Hardware Foundation is pleased to name Desmond Davis, 6, of Grand Blanc, Michigan as the organization’s seventh-annual Ace Cares for Kids All-Star. Today, the Ace Hardware Foundation and Beaumont Children's surprised Desmond at a classroom assembly in front of friends, teachers, hospital staff, and family. The event was held at Myers Elementary School in the Flint suburb of Grand Blanc.

As Ace’s seventh-annual Ace Cares for Kids All-Star, Desmond will serve as national ambassador for the Ace Foundation, raising awareness for the excellent work that is done at local Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals across the country. Through the support of Ace’s vendor partner Duracell, the Ace Cares for Kids program enables Ace stores to raise funds for their local CMN Hospital using Desmond’s incredible story as inspiration.

Desmond was born a healthy and very active child. When Desmond was 1, his family started to notice that he was falling a lot and it was painful for him to sit. To his parent’s disbelief, he soon became paralyzed from the waist down. They took him to his pediatrician and then to an area hospital to figure out the cause. After several visits, Desmond’s parents brought him to Beaumont Children’s, a CMN hospital in Royal Oak near Detroit. In September of 2014, Desmond was diagnosed with a spinal cord tumor and doctors prepared his family for a cancer diagnosis. He was rushed into emergency surgery a day later to remove the olive-sized tumor.

After further testing, his tumor was determined to be benign, but he still faced the prognosis of having to completely learn to walk again. At 2, Desmond started with learning to crawl and began physical therapy. Throughout his recovery process, Desmond was required to wear leg casts to correct his joints, but the most impactful tool used in Desmond’s recovery is Beaumont’s state-of-the-art Lokomat machine. This machine combines a treadmill with weight support and an adjustable exoskeleton and has task-specific training or “games” included in every session. At 2, Desmond was the youngest patient at Beaumont Health to ever practice therapy on the Lokomat.

Thanks to the specialized treatment he received at Beaumont Children’s, Desmond is a bright, giggly, happy child who remains active and plays basketball, football, and other sports every chance he gets. Now 6, Desmond continues his physical therapy on the Lokomat machine and uses leg braces to walk.

“We are thrilled to welcome Desmond into the Ace All-Star family,” said Kane Calamari, President of the Ace Hardware Foundation. “His bravery, strength, and commitment to face the challenges of learning to walk again makes him a fantastic choice for the 2019 Ace All-Star. Desmond along with his family will share his story to raise awareness for CMN hospitals and generate essential funding to ensure other children can receive the same life-altering treatments.”

Desmond was selected by the Ace Foundation following a nationwide campaign that gave every Children’s Miracle Network Hospital an opportunity to nominate a deserving patient. As the seventh-annual All-Star for the Ace Cares for Kids Program, a $10,000 donation from Duracell will be made to Beaumont Children’s in Desmond’s honor. In addition, the Davis family will be treated to an all-expense paid trip to attend the CMN Hospitals’ annual conference in Walt Disney World. Throughout the year, Desmond will make special appearances and will be treated to exciting surprises from Ace Hardware.

As a proud supporter of CMN Hospitals, Ace Hardware is dedicated to raising funds for children’s hospitals across the country, including Beaumont Children’s. Over the past 27 years, the Ace Foundation has raised more than $100 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

 

About the Ace Hardware Foundation

As the official charitable division of Ace Hardware Corporation, the Ace Hardware Foundation helps enhance the vision of being the “Helpful Place” in local communities across the country and around the globe through charitable giving. The Ace Foundation provides support and philanthropic opportunities to its consumers, retail store owners, vendors and team members to give back to local communities through fundraising efforts for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Ace Hardware has been a national partner for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals for the last 27 years, raising over $100 million during that time.

About Children's Miracle Network Hospitals

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® raises funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year to kids across the U.S. and Canada. Donations stay local to fund critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable care. Since 1983, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals has raised more than $5 billion, most of it $1 at a time through the charity’s Miracle Balloon icon. Its various fundraising partners and programs support the nonprofit’s mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible. Find out why children’s hospitals need community support, identify your member hospital and learn how you can Put Your Money Where the Miracles Are, at http://www.CMNHospitals.org and http://www.facebook.com/CMNHospitals.

About Ace Hardware

Ace Hardware is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world with more than 5,200 locally owned and operated hardware stores in approximately 65 countries. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace and its subsidiaries operate an expansive network of distribution centers in the U.S. and have distribution capabilities in Ningbo, China; Colon, Panama; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Since 1924, Ace has become a part of local communities around the world and known as the place with the helpful hardware folks. For more information, visit acehardware.com or newsroom.acehardware.com.