Nature Valley Grand Prix’s festival donates $20k+ to children’s hospitals

Minnesota Bicycle Festival Donates 2008 Proceeds to Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

Minneapolis (March 19, 2008) – The Minnesota Bicycle Festival, in partnership with 2008 festival title sponsor Great River Energy, today announced a direct gift of $20,500 to the Children’s Association – Minneapolis, which supports Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. The festival has partnered with Children’s since 2003. To date, the Minnesota Bicycle Festival, which includes the Nature Valley Grand Prix professional bicycle race, has contributed more than $110,000 to the Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Care Department at Children’s.

“We are pleased and excited to support this great event that benefits such a deserving program,” said David Saggau, CEO of Great River Energy. “Programs such as this in our community are clearly the kind Great River Energy and our employees can stand behind with great pride. We’re particularly impressed by Children’s care for the entire family. As a member-owned cooperative, that’s a great fit with who we are.”

“Supporting the hospice at Children’s is our primary objective,” said Minnesota Bicycle Festival director David LaPorte. “We are the largest volunteer-run bicycle event in the country and supporting these kids is one of the main motivators that keep us excited about growing the event year after year. Working with tier one sponsors like Great River Energy helps us create positive awareness for the festival and Grand Prix and has made our event one of the top three bike races in the country.”

Serving as Minnesota’s children’s hospital since 1924, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota is the seventh largest pediatric health care organization in the United States, with 326 staffed beds at its two hospitals in St. Paul and Minneapolis. An independent, not-for-profit health care system, Children’s of Minnesota provides care through more than 13,000 inpatient visits and more than 200,000 emergency room and other outpatient visits every year. Children’s is the only Minnesota hospital system to provide comprehensive care exclusively to children, and in 2007 was ranked as one of the 30 top pediatric hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

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