Kids Day participants share their experience hawking newspapers

Alarms blared bright and early as 40 campus high school leadership students and Feather staffers hopped out of bed to head out to street corners near FC to sell newspapers for Kids Day, by 4:30 a.m., March 6.

Since 1988, Valley Children’s Healthcare has partnered with ABC30, The Fresno Bee and high schools around the Fresno/Clovis and surrounding communities. Volunteers sell special edition Fresno Bee newspapers on street corners for a suggested donation of $1, but more is encouraged. Campus students claimed the street corners of Cedar/Alluvial and Maple/Alluvial and raised over $2,500, selling over 900 newspapers during Kids Day from 4:30-8:15 a.m.

Kids Day has raised over $8.6 million for Valley Children’s Healthcare over the last 30 years. About 8,000 volunteers across Fresno County participated in the 2018 event. According to The Fresno Bee, “last year’s Kids Day raised a record $628,611 for Valley Children’s. The goal this year is $650,000.” And at the publication of this article, the area’s 8,000+ volunteers had already collected over $355,000 to benefit Valley Children’s Healthcare.

The Feather staff spoke with campus students who volunteered with Kids Day. Feel free to join the discussion below. But be sure to return to The Feather for a full article and video about Kid’s Day 2018 in the next day or so. #KidsDay2018

Enjoys Kids Day atmosphere
Vijay Stephen, ’21
March 7, 2018

“Kids Day was fun and interesting though I was tired at the end of the day. In the morning everyone was running in the streets and dancing in the middle of the intersection. Even if I wasn’t a part of The Feather, I would still go out and support Kids Day because it is important to engage with your community.”

Rise & shine! Be sure to pick up our #KidsDay2018 paper this morning benefiting @CareForKids. Compelling stories by @CarmenGeorge @JoshuaTehee and visuals by @ck_foto @atomicfly. https://t.co/LTk7fqlb9N

— Marek Warszawski (@MarekTheBee) March 6, 2018

Enjoyed first experience
Jacob Provost, ’18
March 7, 2018

“I didn’t think I would have that much fun. I thoroughly enjoyed Kid’s Day. It was not fun to wake up early, but I would do this again because I had so much fun and because it is for a good cause. It always helps having class mates and other people to volunteer with you.”

Bonding with classmates
Erin Wilson, ’18
March 7, 2018

“Something about Kid’s Day that was really super fun and exciting is that we went in groups by grade this year, so we got a chance to hang out and bond with the class you are graduating with. It was different being a senior this year just knowing I had done this for the past four years and this was my last chance to do it, so I took it with a different attitude. This year I had to be there at three-thirty in the morning, and if I had to do that as an underclassmen I would have groaned, but as a senior I was ready to do it.”

Supporting children in need
Alina Davila, ’19
March 7, 2018

“I loved knowing that by every newspaper we sold, we were helping the Children’s Hospital. The best moment was seeing how the students were getting into it and being excited to sell newspapers. Before, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but after, I was also getting into it and knew that what I was doing was helping Children’s Hospital.”

Serving with friends
Claire Palsgaard, ’20
March 7, 2018

“I had never done Kid’s Day before so I didn’t really have any expectations for it, but I ended up having an amazing time. I loved being able to serve the community with my friends. I can’t wait to do it next year, and I’m super excited about all the money we made for Children’s Hospital.”

Important to support Valley Children’s Healthcare
Wesley Hinton, ’20
March 6, 2018

“Kids day was super fun and I think it was totally worth it to walk up early for it. I think it is important to help Children’s (Hospital) because they help lots of kids in our community. Also, Jesus tells us to serve people and I think this is a great way to do that.”

Connecting as a city
Kayla Vanderlinden, ‘20
March 6, 2018

“I think it is important because we can help serve our community. Doing this is a great way to connect as a city and come together and it’s super fun to be a part of the whole thing.”

Bonding time
Adalyn Richardson, ‘21
March 6, 2018

“So far kids day has been really fun and a great bonding time for all the students. Even though we had to wake up really early I think that it is a good way to help raise money for the Valley Children’s Hospital. I also had fun passing out the papers to all the people and getting to see the community’s support.”

Tomorrow is Kids Day and we are expecting a record number of volunteers from all over the Valley and we couldn’t be more excited or thankful! pic.twitter.com/iFlbThZKYn

— Todd Suntrapak (@ToddSuntrapak) March 5, 2018

Great opportunity
Brandon Brogan, ‘19
March 6, 2018

“Today I came out to pass out papers even though I wasn’t in leadership. I think it is important to show our support for the community. It is also a good opportunity to raise money for the Children’s Hospital.”

Enjoyed passing out papers
Landon Bell, ‘21
March 6, 2018

“It was really hard to get up this morning because it was so early but I think it was worth it. I had a lot of fun passing out the papers and hanging out with my friends. It’s really good that we are coming out here to help the community and show our support for the community.”

Difficult to wake up early
Kohl Obwald, ‘21
March 6, 2018

“This morning, getting up was very difficult because it was so early. I think it was totally worth it though because Valley Children’s Hospital takes a lot of donations but does good with them and it’s just fun to help out.”

A day to look forward to
Logan Lewis, ‘20
March 6, 2018

“It was not hard to get up because I have been very excited for this and this one of my favorite things through the year. Waking up early and jamming out with my friends and were just having a lot of fun. It’s super important that we come out here and do this, also all the proceeds go to the children’s hospital. We’re spreading positivity and giving people a good start to their day.”

Uniting as one city 
Alyssa Melillo, ‘18 
March 6, 2018

“It (Kids Day) has been really fun. We have been here for a couple of hours now and it’s been a really good time. My first donation (I collected) was for $10 for one paper and that was early in the morning. Slowly we are getting more and more money. I think it (Kids Day) is really important because it shows we are all united as one city and that we are all supporting one cause together.”

Another article recapping the event will be posted tomorrow. Stay tuned!

For more join the discussions, check out Join the Discussion: FC Serve Day 2018 and Join the discussion: Feather staff shares views on controversial topics. 

Owen Monke can be reached via Twitter and via email: Owen Monke.