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UNION — Six weeks of fund raising activities for an area children’s hospital will begin Tuesday morning with a balloon release in the Wal Mart parking lot.

The Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is an international non-profit organization that raises funds for children’s hospitals, medical research, and community awareness of children’s health issues. Since its founding in 1982, the organization has raised more than $4 billion for a network of 170 children’s hospitals in America and Canada.

Those funds have been raised primarily through the organization’s partnerships with 75 corporate partners including Wal Mart. Stacy Farr, a supervisor with the Union Wal Mart store, announced this week that the store will undertake its annual fundraiser for the network beginning Tuesday. Farr said this year’s goal is to raise $10,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. She said the money raised for the network will go to the Greenville Children’s Hospital which serves the Upstate of South Carolina including Union County as well as western North Carolina and eastern Georgia.

Farr said the campaign will begin with a balloon launch from the Wal Mart parking lot at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 7.

“We will start May 7 here in front of the store,” Farr said. “We’re going to have a balloon release. The balloon release will be to say thank you to Greenville Children’s Hospital for all their service.”

Farr said the balloons, which can be purchased the day of the release, cost 50 cents. She said people can write the names of children and/or grandchildren or other relatives they wish to honor or remember on the balloons.

“I’m going to buy one in memory of my cousin, Ja-Derrick Fincher, who was born with spina bifida,” Farr said. “Greenville Children’s Hospital worked miracles for him. He lived three-four years longer than expected. Another associate, Kay Robinson, will release one in honor of her granddaughter, Emily Nelson.”

Farr said a different event will be held every week during the duration of the fundraiser. She said these will be announced at a later date.

For more information contact Wal Mart at 864-429-598 and ask for Stacy Farr.

Editor Charles Warner can be reached at 864-427-1234, ext. 14, or by email at cwarner@civitasmedia.com.