ANN ARBOR – Charles Woodson, former University of Michigan football standout and 1997 Heisman trophy winner, has made a gift of $2 million to the new University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital. The new hospital is scheduled to open in the fall of 2012.

Woodson’s gift to the new U-M C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital will support groundbreaking pediatric research by funding The Charles Woodson Clinical Research Fund.

The fund will advance the work of researchers doing early-stage work to help children with life-threatening illnesses that include cancer, heart disease, kidney disorders and autism.

In addition, the gift will support the construction of the new U-M C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital, where the lobby will be named in his honor.

“My reason for working so hard has always been to be a part of something great,” says Woodson, who recently spent time visiting sick children at Mott. “My gift to Mott is so that I can be part of the great things that are happening there, and so that I can help aspiring young doctors do their own outstanding work to help children.”

Woodson, current Green Bay Packer cornerback, became a father this year. He has always wanted to help children, starting with his days as student athlete at U-M, when he first visited Mott, he says.

“When you visit a sick child, it puts everything into perspective,” Woodson says. “Now that I have the ability to make this gift, I feel as though I’m fulfilling my role in life in a new way. I’ve had much to be thankful for in my life, and this is an important way for me to show my gratitude. I want other children to have as many reasons as I have had to be thankful every day.”

One of the top children’s hospitals in the nation, U-M C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital, is a charitable institution and a part of the University of Michigan Health System, a leading academic medical research institution.

“Charles Woodson’s gift will be transformative for clinical research at C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital,” says Valerie Castle, M.D., chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases and Ravitz Foundation Professor at the University of Michigan Health System. “It is providing the critical seed money to establish our new research center as well as supporting our new children’s hospital. We are so grateful to have Charles as part of our Mott team and look forward to a long term partnership with him.”

The gift also is a significant contribution towards construction costs of the new state-of-the-art facility, says Patricia Warner, Associate Director and Chief Administrative Officer, University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital.
The new $754 million, 1.1 million square foot hospital will feature a 12-story inpatient tower, a nine-story outpatient tower, a rooftop helipad, and 348 beds when full open.

“Charles Woodson is not only a gifted athlete but a volunteer extraordinaire,” Warner says. “The new Charles Woodson lobby represents a significant gift of support for the construction of the new hospital but just as important, a reflection of Charles’ support in so many ways. When he visits our patients, interacts with our families—he lifts up their spirits. Charles is a very special friend of our U-M C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.”