On Tuesday, Dec. 23, teen superstar Miley Cyrus brightened the day for hundreds of patients and family members at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt when she joined her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, to chat, sing and sign autographs for more than two hours.

Earlier, Billy Ray Cyrus presented $60,000 to the Vanderbilt Eskind Diabetes Clinic, courtesy of The Fraternal Order of Eagles (F.O.E.), an international non-profit organization. The F.O.E. made the grant to the diabetes center’s pediatric division in honor of Billy Ray, a former F.O.E. member. Over the past few years, the F.O.E. has donated $300,000 to Vanderbilt’s pediatric diabetes research and treatment programs. Cyrus has long been a supporter of Children’s Hospital and the Vanderbilt Department of Pediatrics.

After presenting the check, Cyrus toured the pediatric diabetes clinic and visited with physicians, patients and their families. Then he headed to Children’s Hospital, where he was joined by Miley, TV’s "Hannah Montana." The pair sang holiday songs, autographed photos and posed for photos with excited patients. They didn’t leave until they had visited with every patient in the room, making some sick children incredibly happy. Quite a few times, Miley had some fun at her dad’s expense, drawing mustaches and doodling on his photo that was being handed out to patients.

For more information, contact Laurie Holloway, (615) 322-4747