The Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management graduating class of 2017 presented nearly $4,000 and more than 100 toys, games and art supplies to UVa Children’s Hospital earlier this month.

The funds were raised this summer through a collaborative effort organized by the graduating class and in cooperation with the other bankers in the Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management.

Amanda Peay, Mortgage Loan Officer with Bank of Botetourt in Troutville, was among the 51 Virginia bankers who graduated with the class. Peay was secretary of the 2017 class.

“We are thrilled to have the support from this program,” said Ryan Lightner, Associate Director of Development for UVa Children’s Hospital. “At UVa Children’s Hospital, we rely on the philanthropic efforts from our community so that we can continue to provide the best pediatric healthcare that central Virginia has to offer.  These donations will help make the best of what can be a pretty serious event for our tiniest patients.”

The majority of the funds were raised through students’ participation in a bowling fundraiser event at AMF Kegler’s Lanes in Charlottesville. The owner of AMF Kegler’s Lanes, who has a personal connection to the UVa Children’s Hospital, donated rounds of bowling and free shoe rentals to the cause, enabling the funds collected from the students’ admission fees to go directly to the hospital. This year, the graduating class also coordinated a supply drive based on the hospital’s wish list, including board games and art supplies.

UVa Children’s Hospital provides primary and specialty care in more than 30 specialties to children throughout Virginia. It is a hospital‐within‐a‐hospital at UVa Medical Center with 111 beds, a dedicated pediatric emergency department, a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for infants, a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for children younger than 18, and The Battle Building, which consolidates outpatient children’s care at a single location in Charlottesville.

Each graduating class of the Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management selects a charity to support during their final year of the program. Past charity recipients include the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Special Olympics Virginia, the RocSolid Foundation, the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.