Layla Day

It started as a fundraiser for a local teen but “Team Layla Day” turned into an inspirational day for all involved.

Team Layla Day (March 19, 2022) felt like a church gathering, family fun day, food/live music festival, fundraiser, and an employee picnic all rolled into one great day.

The GRHS Foundation is the new nonprofit charitable side of the Health System which is focused on helping local patients.

All totaled, Team Layla Day brought out more than 500 participants, 50 volunteers, and raised over $34,000 for Layla Jamison’s physical rehabilitation and continued therapy. Layla was able to attend the entire event with her family, helped co-host the drawdown, and visited every booth in her wheelchair.

Layla is the George County High School senior who survived the Highway 26 road collapse during Hurricane Ida’s torrential rains. Layla’s mother Kim Jamison, said the crash has changed the family’s focus, and faith is what has kept the family going.

The Foundation’s leadership team began serious planning for Team Layla Day in late January after the Jamison Family returned home for physical rehabilitation in Atlanta. The event originally centered around a big $5,000 Drawdown event but quickly expanded into prize raffles, bouncy houses, dunk-a-doctor and kid games (Frisbee Frenzy, Plinko, Dart Shoot) all around the high school football field.

The Health System’s CEO Greg Havard says, an event this successful can only happen through outstanding local partnerships.

“Our sponsors came through financial, but just as importantly; they were champions for this event. They helped promoted it, provided volunteers, and supported us from the beginning. I want to thank each one of them for their contributions. I’m also very proud of the number of health system employees and departments that volunteered for Team Layla Day,” Havard said.