Valley Children’s Hospital. File Photo.

A $9 million donation made to Valley Children’s Hospital will go toward the creation of a new outpatient specialty care center at the Madera campus.

The donation from LeRoy A. Giannini in honor of his parents, Ruth and LeRoy G. Giannini, makes the largest gift ever to the hospital from a single source, according to a news release.

“This is a truly remarkable day for Valley Children’s as we celebrate the extraordinary gift of nearly $9 million from the Giannini family,” said Todd Suntrapak, president and CEO of Valley Children’s Healthcare. “This gift is a wonderful tribute to the family’s deep Valley roots, to their lifetime of caring for children and families and to those children who we are privileged to care for at Valley Children’s today and for generations to come.”

The new specialty care center will bear the Giannini name to honor the gift. Plans for the building are still in the early stages.

The Giannini family has been farming in the Central Valley for 124 years. With more than 2,000 acres of nectarines and plums, the Giannini family at one point was the largest producer of nectarines in the world.

Over the years, donations from the Giannini family were not limited to hospitals. According to the release, the family has made large donations to educational and faith-based organizations as well as little league teams in Dinuba.

“We are grateful for the generosity and vision of the Giannini family and the transformational effect that their gift will have at Valley Children’s,” said Robert Saroyan, president of Valley Children’s Healthcare Foundation. “This gift is the capstone of the Giannini family’s incredible tradition of philanthropy in the Valley. Their spirit of generosity and compassion for those in need in our community will live on with the naming of the future center.”