7-year-old boy announced as winner in “Up to Bat with Inges” contest

Nearly 12,600 voted online; The Dugout selected as name for activity area in pediatric cancer infusion clinic funded by Brandon and Shani Inge’s $100,000 gift

ANN ARBOR, MI – After a week of online voting, 7-year-old Jake Krzyzaniak of Adrian has been named the winner of the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital’s “Up to Bat with the Inges” room-naming contest.

His name – The Dugout – will be prominently displayed in the pediatric cancer infusion clinic’s activity area that has been funded by Detroit Tiger third baseman Brandon Inge and wife Shani’s $100,000 gift to Mott. The activity area will be in the new C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital, set to open in 2011.

With 4,337 winning votes, Krzyzaniak and his family also will receive a special night out on the town with Brandon and Shani Inge. In all, 12,595 online votes were cast by the community and University of Michigan employees.

Krzyzaniak’s entry was among five finalists selected by Brandon and Shani Inge following their community room-naming contest, which ran from June to September.
Of the 55 original entries submitted, some included the name “Dugout.” Krzyzaniak’s entry, however, was selected to be a finalist based on his written essay and illustration. The five finalists’ entries, complete with accompanying essays and images, were then placed online for one week for the final community vote.

“Brandon and I were thrilled by the level of interest and the quality of the entries. It was very hard for us to narrow it down to five finalists. The essays and drawings were wonderful,” says Shani Inge. “We are so excited for Jake, too. His essay really hit the mark and captured the spirit of the room. We really want it to be a place where kids and their families will find strength and hope.”

Krzyzaniak’s essay:
“I would like to name the play area “The Dugout.” I choose this name because sometimes in life we have to sit in the dugout, wait, watch, get stronger, and learn. We get benched for a while, but it’s to make us stronger in our life and faith. I myself was a patient at Mott’s Pediatric Cancer Center. I was born without an immune system (SCIDS). Now I’m 7 years old and doing very well. Dr. Hutchinson told my parents I had a baseball player’s name, and guess what – it’s my favorite sport. My brother is also a Mott kid. He’s special needs and is treated through Neurology. We love our U of M Hospital.”

The Inges say that they felt it was important to involve the community in the naming of the new area to build excitement and raise awareness of the new children’s and women’s facility.

The couple also wanted the naming contest to provide an opportunity to help raise additional funds for the new 1.1 million square-foot facility. With each entry, the Inges asked contestants to make a monetary donation of any amount. As a result, the contest helped to raise nearly $1,500 for the children’s and women’s hospitals fund-raising campaign.

Since 2003, Brandon and Shani Inge, along with the Tigers Wives Association, have donated countless hours to helping the patients and families at Mott. From visiting inpatients to hosting special fund-raising events for Mott, the Inges – who have two young sons – have played an important role in the success of the children’s hospital and women’s hospital fund-raising campaign, which, to date has raised more than $50 million.

About the new U-M C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital & Women’s Hospital
The U-M Health System broke ground in October 2006 for the new $523 million C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital facility.

With 1.1 million square feet, the facility will provide a new and larger home for specialty services not offered anywhere else in Michigan for newborns, children and pregnant women, such as the pediatric liver transplant program, the Level I Pediatric Trauma Program, the Pediatric and Adolescent Home Ventilator Program, the Craniofacial Anomalies Program, high-risk pregnancy services and specialty gynecological services.

Plans for the new children’s and women’s facility include16 pediatric operating rooms, four pediatric surgical procedure rooms, four Caesarean section suites, and 264 private inpatient beds upon opening, including 50 single room maternity care beds, with capacity for an additional 84 beds in the future.

To date, the U-M Health System has raised more than $50 million of the $75 million goal for its children’s and women’s fund-raising campaign, part of the University-wide $2.5 billion The Michigan Difference campaign.

To learn more about the children’s and women’s fund-raising campaign and building project, visit www.mottchildrenshospital.org.

Written by Krista Hopson