Rally Squirrel unveils new Safety Treehouse at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center

ST. LOUIS (Oct. 18, 2013) – The new Rally Squirrel Safety Treehouse was unveiled today in the Dan Dierdorf Emergency and Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center. Rally Squirrel, the hospital’s mascot, presented to the crowd his Rally theater and a 65-inch touch screen monitor with a wide variety of games for all ages. The forest-themed area will provide a happy and pleasant place for children and their families awaiting treatment in the emergency department.

The safety treehouse will provide tools to educate parents in the areas of environmental safety, home safety, disaster preparedness and sports safety to decrease the risk of pediatric injury. The area will also offer digital custom home safety evaluations for families visiting the medical center. “We are so grateful to the donors who came together to create this wonderful and educational space for our patients,” said Sherlyn Hailstone, president of SSM Cardinal Glennon. “Being able to provide hands-on safety information and tools to the families we serve will enable us to significantly reduce the risk for childhood accidents and injuries.”

The safety area was supported by donors Mr. Robert Smith and the Arthur and Helen Baer Foundation, as well as Board of Governors members Dan Dierdorf, Chris Pronger and the Bodley Group, which has provided continuous support for the center through the Dierdorf Pronger Golf Tournament. TivoliToo, a design firm from St. Paul, Minn., created the space inspired by Rally Squirrel himself.

“I would like to thank everyone who has supported our golf tournament for the kids at Cardinal Glennon,” said Board of Governors member Dan Dierdorf. “It has been nearly three decades of being humbled by the generosity of the donors and everyone in this community.  I am so excited that we are able to introduce this new addition for the patients of Cardinal Glennon.”

Rally Squirrel became the hospital’s official mascot after building Rally Squirrel’s play area at the hospital with proceeds from his charity apparel sold during the 2011 World Series. The safety treehouse is his second project since he opened the playground with Matt Holliday in Spring 2012.

Through his agent, Rally said: “I hope the kids will have as much fun in this space as I did building it. Now that I have retired from baseball, I have plenty of projects to keep me busy and keep bringing smiles to the patients, just like I did when I opened my playground above the Bob Costas Cancer Center.”