The Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach Auxiliary hosted its 69th Annual Designer Fashion Show and silent auction, drawing more than 350 community members for an afternoon of fashion and philanthropy while advancing the final year of its $600,000 three year fundraising campaign to support the purchase of a lifesaving Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine for critically ill children at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital.

“This is our 69th year hosting the Designer Fashion Show, and each year our community continues to show incredible generosity and heart,” said Roxie Hause, president, Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach Auxiliary. “As we reach the final year of our ECMO campaign, the impact of this event is especially meaningful. Together, we are helping provide lifesaving technology that gives children the best possible chance for recovery and a healthy future.”

From left to right: Rita Goshert, director of the Cherese Mari Laulhere Child Life Program; Cynthia Herrington, M.D., cardiothoracic surgeon with the Children’s Heart Institute; Lara Khouri, chief executive officer; and Kaye Remo, program director of the Children’s Heart Institute at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital, gather in support of children and families at the Auxiliary’s 69th Annual Designer Fashion Show.

Proceeds from this year’s event helped the Auxiliary reach its $100,000 goal to support ECMO care for children in the Cherese Mari Laulhere Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit.

This year’s runway featured the Grayseful Collection, a sophisticated fashion line known for its timeless silhouettes and elegant designs. Beyond the runway, the event highlighted the real-world impact of ECMO care through the story of Jordan, a 15-month-old patient who received lifesaving ECMO treatment at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital. During a critical medical crisis, ECMO provided vital support for Jordan’s heart and lungs, allowing his body the time it needed to heal.

Ashley and Veronica share their son Jordan’s ECMO journey on stage, offering a powerful reminder of the lifesaving impact of advanced heart-lung support at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital.

“When people hear the word ‘miracle,’ they often think of something abstract, but for us it was the machines in our son’s hospital room and the doctors who never gave up,” said Jordan’s mothers, Ashley and Veronica.

Their story served as a moving reminder of why continued community support is so vital. Today, Jordan is thriving—an outcome made possible through advanced technology and the expertise of Miller Children’s & Women’s care teams.

“The day ECMO was no longer needed felt like watching the sunrise after the longest night of our lives,” Ashley and Veronica said. “If there is one thing we hope people take away from our story, it’s that ECMO is not just a machine—it is time, possibility and hope when hope feels fragile. The medical teams don’t just run machines; they protect futures, and we are forever grateful.”

Founded in 1946 with the motto “Have a Heart and Help a Child,” the Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach Auxiliary has raised more than $18 million to support pediatric health care. Through decades of fundraising—including the Annual Designer Fashion Show, the Auxiliary Gift Shop, baby photo programs, bake sales and special events—the Auxiliary has helped purchase critical medical equipment, enhance patient spaces, support the Small Baby Program in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and advance numerous patient-centered initiatives.

As the 69th Annual Designer Fashion Show concludes the final year of the ECMO fundraising campaign, the event reflects the Auxiliary’s enduring mission and the community’s unwavering support. Together, their efforts help ensure that children in need of critical cardiac and respiratory care can receive it close to home—offering hope, healing and brighter futures for generations to come.