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The PANDA Story

Our Mission... The Phoenix Women's Board's mission is to support discovery processes that lead to improved treatments and cures for devastating childhood diseases. The board will accomplish its mission by raising awareness and private funding for the Steele Children's Research Center at the University of Arizona. This board has adopted the name PANDA - People Acting Now Discover Answers.

The Success Story... This success story of PANDA starts in the 1980's in Tucson. It begins in a sad and tragic way, but brings home the reason we exist today as a group.

Louise Thomas was a neighbor and friend of PANDA Co-founder Robyn DeBell. Louise was a young mom with a 5 year old son named Michael. Michael was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away despite state of the art medical treatments. From her grief, Louise vowed to start a facility that would help find the cause and cure for terrible childhood diseases, including the cancer that took her young son. The Steele Center was built and it recruited excellent physicians and staff members. Because it was unknown outside of Tucson, its reach was limited and its funding stretched. In 1989, Robyn's family moved to Phoenix. Shortly after moving, Robyn met community spark plug and PANDA Co-founder, Penny Gunning.

For the next two years Penny and Robyn talked at great lengths about how to bring the Steele Children's Research Center to Phoenix. "We needed a project that would involve several generations - grandparents, young daughters and women our age", said Robyn. One day Penny said "I've got a terrific idea for a fundraiser that I've always wanted to try - a children's fashion show."

YearAmountPurpose
2000$83,000Purchased an AutoGen Robot used to prepare and purify DNA used to define genetic origins of devastating childhood diseases.
2001$78,000Purchased a Virtek Chip Writer: Microarray technology that speeds the search for genes responsible for specific diseases.
2002$135,000PANDA Scholar Todd Camenisch, PhD. was recruited to study Pediatric Heart Development.
2003$140,000PANDA Scholar Shannon Jenkins, M.D. recruited; Research lab start-up funds for Johnathan Wispe, M.D. -Neonatoogist - lung development.
2004$150,000IBD Collaboration with TGen, Phoenix Children's Hospital and The Steele Center to study Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis.
2005$250,000Pediatric cancer research , Dr. Rochelle Bagatell recruited and to establish a White Coat Fund to recruit research scholars.
2006 $312,000 To support the work and establish the lab of Dr. Kimberly Gandy -Pediatric immunology and cardiothoracic surgery.
2007 $539,000 To establish the PANDA Children's Aerodigestive Disorders Center and to fund the White Coat Fund.
2008 $434,000 Supported the "Women in Science" program, providing seed funding for the research of female physician-scientists. Funds also support the White Coat Fund.
2009 $590,000 Established the “PANDA Children’s Neurological Center”
 

The first board was formed by calling on 35 women who were successful in their community, accomplished, confident and able to chair an event without a notebook to guide them. Our goal, mission and commitment remain the same today. To date we have contributed over $2.711 million to the Steele Center. We know the funds we have generated have positively impacted the lives of children, some our own. And we are proud of the fact that PANDA has made possible lifesaving outcomes for Arizona children and their families.

If Michael Thomas was diagnosed with leukemia today, the Steele Children's Research Center could treat his disease, and quite possibly he would be alive today.