Blessed is he that considereth the poor:
the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive;
and he shall be blessed upon the earth:

Long Road Home
Acoustic duets with a rich chemistry...
Buy at CDBaby!

Gillette Childrens Hospital  CMN Champion, shared her story with Van and Cheryl, and radio listeners, during the radiothon.: After 84 hours of being on the air, the anticipation was finally over when the total pledge amount was announced. The response to the $1.5 million announcement was applause, whistles, hugs and tears.

March 12, 2003
 

Jamie Gappa, 2001 CMN Champion with Van and Cheryl The third annual "KS95 for Kids" radiothon surpassed the $1 million pledge mark for the second year in a row. This year's four-day, 84-hour event raised $1,544,283 - one-half million dollars more than last year! Since 1998, more than $3.1 million has been raised through the radiothon to benefit Gillette Children's and the Children's Cancer Research Fund (CCRF) at the University of Minnesota.

Funds have been used to support Gillette's Spasticity Evaluation Clinic, Family Resource Center, Mobile Outreach Clinics and care coordinator services. Money raised this year will continue to support these needed services as well as give families access to the Caring Bridge Website. This Website allows patients and families - free of charge - to develop and maintain their own Web pages. It gives them a tool to communicate with family and friends about their care and other things. The Caring Bridge Website can be accessed at www.caringbridge.com.

The radiothon kicked off at 6 a.m. on Thursday, March 8, in Gillette's outpatient waiting room. Van Patrick and Cheryl Kaye, hosts of Mornings on KS95, turned on their microphones and began sharing with listeners stories from Gillette and CCRF patients and families. Within minutes of being on the air, the phones began to ring and continued to do so until well after 6 p.m. Sunday when the radiothon concluded at the Mall of America. There were hundreds of onlookers present to lend support and hear the final pledge results.

"Donors called the phone bank from their cars, homes and jobs. Some said they wanted to give a donation because they knew someone who had been helped at Gillette or by the Children's Cancer Research Fund, others were just touched by the courage and strength of the patients and families," shares Van.

And once again, the generosity of the community was evident. Supporters donated a variety of items including a Minnesota Vikings Cris Carter autographed jersey, which netted $8,000 in pledges when it was purchased and donated back to the radiothon several times. An autographed World Series baseball from the 1950s was also donated and auctioned. Several individuals and businesses, such as Interelate in Eden Prairie (see Donor Profile on page 3) challenged others to match or exceed their pledge.

Some of this year's contributions came via giant crayons and coffee cans. "There were lots of kids who came to the mall with their piggy banks in tow. One little boy stood on the ladder at the "fish bowl" [a large glass money bowl] and dropped in $60 worth of coins from a coffee tin. He said he wanted to be a helper," says Cheryl. Minneapolis resident, Kristin O'Malley, also wanted to be a helper and contributed $1,000 of her wedding money. "Rather than using the money for wedding favors, my fiancée and I decided to donate the money to the radiothon. At the wedding there will be notecards on the tables telling our guests that instead of purchasing wedding trinkets, we donated the money," explains O'Malley. After 84 hours on air

The "KS95 for Kids" radiothon raises more money than any of the other 135 radiothons held throughout the country to benefit CMN affiliated hospitals, according to Mick Shannon, CEO of Children's Miracle Network. Shannon traveled to Minnesota from CMN's headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, to attend the radiothon. He says, "KS95's radiothon is the model that several other stations are following."

Dayton Kane, program director for 95.9 KISS FM in Green Bay, Wisc., was one of about 30 radio station personnel from nine stations throughout the United States to attend the KS95 event.

"Our station hosts an annual radiothon that benefits Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. We wanted to come to the KS95 event and get pointers on how to make our radiothon even more successful. What better way to do that than to watch the best," says Kane. KS95 plans to host the fourth annual "KS95 for Kids" radiothon next year

 After 84 hours of being on the air, the anticipation was finally over when the total pledge amount was announced. The response to the $1.5 million announcement was applause, whistles, hugs and tears. 
 
 

CNN's Larry King  Recieves Children's  Miracle  Awards April 2003 Larry King's  Cardiac Foundation has played a major role in saving the lives of children  from around the world It seeks out those who cannot afford the life-saving cardiac procedures they need.  Children's Miracle Network   honored him with the Children's Miracle Achievement Award  in April 2003  ( Orlando Fl)

Al Green Headlines 40th Annual Shower Of Stars For St.Judes Childrens Research April 23, 2003 Their mission – to find cures for children with catastrophic illness through research and treatment – is a constant driving force. It is through the pursuit of that mission, that we seize every opportunity to help the children who come to us for care and, in so doing, to create new knowledge that will help children throughout the world. (Memphis Tn.)

NFL HEROES  HAVE HEART IN HAWAII  January 29, 2003 NFL Greats Join Hospitalized Kids and Junior Golfer Mallory Code In Sixth Annual Ace Hardware Golf Shootout To Raise Nearly $1.8 For Children's Miracle Network Hospital ( Honolulu Hawaii)