A rendering of the David M. Clark Center for Safe and Healthy Children at Arkansas Children's Hospital.
The family of the late David M. Clark is giving $2.5 million to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the hospital announced Wednesday.
The money will support programs and services for abused and neglected children inside the new 36,000-SF David M. Clark Center for Safe and Healthy Children, under construction at the corner of the 12th and Battery streets in Little Rock.
The center is scheduled to be dedicated on Aug. 11.
“Our dad always had a soft spot in his heart for children,” Elizabeth Taylor, president of Clark Family Foundation Inc., said in a news release. “Throughout his life he wanted to ensure a healthy future for children throughout the region. Our family is proud to continue his legacy by giving a gift to help one of the most vulnerable pediatric populations in our state — the victims of child abuse and neglect.”
A leader in the air cargo industry, Clark died last year at age 74. He was the founder of Air Traffic Service Corp., an air cargo company, and the former owner of Iron Horse Farm of Perryville, a breeder and trainer of thoroughbreds.
Clark bought and expanded H.E. “Tex” Sutton Forwarding, an equine air transportation company, and created the Clark Family Foundation, dedicated to supporting children’s health and well-being. The David Clark Heart Center at Arkansas Children’s Hospital is named for him, and the foundation funded the David and Stephanie Clark endowed chair in Pediatric Cardiology.
Clark also served as president of the Arkansas Thoroughbred Breeders’ & Horsemen’s Association.
The hospital said the new Clark Center has been funded “entirely through philanthropy,” with lead donors and others contributing $11.3 million to the project.
“Thanks to the generosity of Clark Family Foundation and the community, Arkansas Children’s Hospital is becoming a national center of excellence for treating abused and neglected children,” Fred Scarborough, president of Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation, said. “We are grateful to the Clark family for championing the children of Arkansas. This gift holds great promise for a healthier tomorrow.”
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