People Acting Now Discover Answers, Get to Know Steele Children's Research Center

Helping Discover Treatments and Cures for Devastating Childhood Diseases Since 1999.

The Phoenix Women’s Board of the Steele Children’s Research Center, affectionately known as PANDA, supports discovery processes to improve treatments and cures for devastating childhood diseases. The strong and unique partnership between the PANDA members and the researchers and physicians at the Steele Children’s Research Center has made it possible for us to embody our name, People Acting Now Discovering Answers.

The PANDA story begins in the 1980’s in Tucson, AZ. Louise Thomas, a neighbor and friend of PANDA Co-founder Robyn DeBell was a young mother with a 9 year old son Michael. Michael was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and passed away –  despite state of the art medical treatments.

From her grief, Louise vowed to start a facility that would help find the cause and cure for terrible childhood diseases, including the cancer that took her young son. The Steele Children’s Research Center was built, and it recruited renowned physicians and staff from around the world. Because the Steele Children’s Research Center was unknown outside of Tucson, its reach was limited and its funding stretched.

In 1989, Robyn’s family moved to Phoenix and shortly after moving Robyn met PANDA Co-founder and community leader, Penny Gunning. For the next two years Penny and Robyn talked at great lengths about how to bring the Steele Children’s Research Center to Phoenix. “We needed a project that would involve several generations – grandparents, young daughters and women our age”, said Robyn. Then one day Penny said “I’ve got a terrific idea for a fundraiser that I’ve always wanted to try – a children’s fashion show.”

The first board was formed by calling on 35 women who were successful in their community, accomplished, confident, and able to chair an event without a notebook to guide them. Our mission and commitment remain the same today. To date, our children’s fashion show and other activities have contributed over $22 million to the Steele Children’s Research Center. We take great pride in knowing these funds have made possible lifesaving outcomes for Arizona children and their families, some our own.

If Michael Thomas was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma today, the Steele Children’s Research Center could treat his disease, and quite possibly he would be alive and still with us today. This passion and determination is what drives our purpose and the PANDA story forward every day.
https://www.azpanda.org/pandas-story/