Valley Children’s Healthcare’s pediatric residency program is the recipient of a $1 million gift from the Richard Berberian family of Fresno.

The gift establishes the Richard and John Berberian Chief of Pediatrics Endowed Chair and the Richard and John Berberian Pediatric Residency Program Endowment.

The endowment will fund the needs of Valley Children’s residency program when the first class of 13 residents arrives next month.

“As a family, we welcome Valley Children’s first group of residents to our Central Valley,” said Barbara Berberian, spokesperson for the Berberian family, in a statement. “We are excited by their willingness to be a productive part of our community through service and education, both of which we recognize as being vital to the fabric of our lives. As Valley families, we have been the recipient of their high standard of care that is provided in a loving, joyful and caring atmosphere. We are thankful to have the opportunity and are honored to become a contributing member of this very special place called Valley Children’s Hospital.”

The gift is in honor of the late Richard and John Berberian. Richard, a Fresno State graduate, worked in his family’s farming operation before buying into the citrus packinghouse Bee Sweet Citrus in Fowler. He died in 2013.

One of his sons, John, was days away from graduating from the Tulane University School of Medicine in Louisiana when he died in 2005 at the age of 29.

John was set to go to Georgetown University for a residency in neurosurgery.

Valley Children’s pediatric residency program, which is affiliated with Stanford University, is also the recepient of one of only four national Advocacy Training Grant Awards from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“With our new residency program and the state of the health of our local children, there is tremendous opportunity for teaching advocacy to our residents and creating awareness around our faculty,” Chief of Pediatrics and Executive Director of Medical Education Dr. Jolie Limon said. “We are looking towards a sustainable model that will be part of our training program and infiltrate our organizational culture.”