-By Kevin Lally

Most moviegoers today have probably never seen a film starring Will Rogers, but the legacy of this great performer continues in a profound way.

The Will Rogers Institute (WRI), a program of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation, is a durable charity named after the popular entertainer who was one of the highest-paid movie stars in Hollywood when he died in a plane crash in 1935. A cowboy, humorist and actor, he was also an ardent humanitarian and philanthropist.

A year after Rogers’ death, the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital, originally a hospital for tuberculosis-stricken vaudevillians, was established as a national training facility for doctors treating patients with tuberculosis. Building on that foundation, the Will Rogers Institute is today a national charitable health program focused on research of debilitating lung disorders, medical school training fellowships, and distribution of free health education materials to the general public. And now the Institute has became a national leader in providing neonatal ventilator equipment to hospitals across the country.

Jim Orr, MGM’s executive VP and general sales manager, domestic theatrical distribution, and newly installed chairman of the neonatal committee, explains the genesis of the neonatal program: “In 2006, WRI was asked by Variety-The Children’s Charity of Southern California to help fund the installation of two complete neonatal ventilator systems, commonly known as a Giraffe Infant Warmer and Isolate Systems, at St. Francis Medical Center in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. This equipment is literally life-saving for those children who are born drastically premature. The Will Rogers Institute has been in the business of pulmonary health since the founding of the charity in 1936. While funds had always been dedicated to research and educational programs since that first grant to St. Francis, WRI decided to make neonatal grants an annual program and now has a committee dedicated solely to that endeavor.

”One year after the grant to St. Francis Medical Center,” Orr continues, “we asked them for a report on the impact of the two machines. The newer ventilators allowed their NICU medical staff to avoid two major complications: first, the higher infection rate for these drastically premature children, and second, the difficulty weaning the infant off the ventilator so that he or she may begin breathing without assistance. The average amount of time a baby spent on the old machine was seven to ten days; the new ventilators reduced that time to two to three days. This allows these infants to be moved to traditional care sooner, which provides a cost savings of $1,950 each day the babies are not on ventilation, as well as giving them an earlier start to a normal, healthy life.

“St. Francis also told us that their NICU is far more efficient and productive, and described it as a blessing because approximately 15% of the 6,000 babies born in that hospital each year are required to spend time in the NICU due to respiratory problems. We have received similar reports from various hospitals each year.”

The Will Rogers Institute has just awarded its neonatal grants for 2010, totaling $433,550. Seven recipients received $50,000 (or just under that amount) apiece: St. Louis Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, MO; Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee, WI; St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, WI; Poudre Valley Health System Foundation in Fort Collins, CO; University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore, MD; Oakwood Healthcare Foundation in Dearborn, MI; and Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis, TN. Other recipients were Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, IN; Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, LA; and Warren Memorial Hospital in Front Royal, VA. The grants will pay for equipment ranging from ventilators to oxygen monitoring equipment to infant transport systems.

Orr praises the motion picture theatre operators whose annual participation in Will Rogers’ annual fundraising drives has remained consistent. “WRI’s exhibition partners have been amazingly generous in helping us raise money for the neonatal and other programs. Even in these tough economic times, the exhibition community and their patrons have continued to see the value in a cause-related program. The majority of our exhibitor partners run a concession promotion, of which we receive a percentage of the proceeds. These programs have been a win-win-win: for the patron, the exhibitor and WRI. The moviegoing audience continues to amaze us with their generosity, as well as the exhibitors willing to execute the promotions in order to help us.”

In addition to the Will Rogers Institute programs, the Will Rogers Foundation also provides social-service assistance to eligible members of the theatrical entertainment industry through the Motion Picture Pioneers Assistance Fund. Their annual Pioneer of the Year Award presentation is a major fundraising event for the Assistance Fund.

For more information on the Will Rogers Institute and this year’s movie theatre fundraising program, visit www.WRInstitute.org.