Huffines celebrates 100th anniversary with $100,000 gift to Children’s Health

Tiny drivers of miniature vehicles with trailers full of toys excitedly waited outside Children’s Medical Center Dallas. The electric cars for kids were loaded with blocks, dolls and stuffed animals for a parade of Children’s Health patients to deliver to fellow patients.

The patients proudly paraded around the festive hospital atrium, filled with red balloons and piles of toys, to the sound of applause and cheering from onlookers.

The toy parade concluded with a $100,000 check from Huffines Auto Dealerships and the Huffines family to Children’s Health. The gift — which celebrated the 100th birthday of Huffines Auto Dealerships — will benefit the hospital system’s Indigent Family Assistance Fund, which provides support to families experiencing financial strain due to unexpected medical journeys and displacement while their child is receiving care.

“Huffines was founded on the principle of supporting our communities and I can’t think of a better way to honor the Huffines legacy than by giving back to North Texas kids,” said Huffines Auto Dealerships President and CEO Ray Huffines.

The generous donation from Huffines signifies the support of one century-old institution to another, Children’s Health — also a North Texas pillar that has provided lifesaving care to children of Huffines’ team members and customers.

Ray and his wife, Ann, personally understand the unique and specialized care Children’s Health provides to kids that isn’t found at other hospitals. The couple’s niece was treated for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and their granddaughter, Bekah, was treated for a severe peanut allergic reaction.

Ann remembers the day she hurried to meet her granddaughter in the emergency room at Children’s Medical Center Plano, where she was rushed to after going into anaphylactic shock. Bekah needed urgent care, and Children’s Health team members knew how to treat her critical needs.

“There are a lot of hospitals here and a lot of children, but the care Children’s Health provides is unique and specialized,” Ray said.