UPDATE, April 3: The total amount raised to support Children’s Hospital, Central California by the 2013 Kid’s Day effort was $490,000. This year’s outcome was a record high for the event, which has been running for 26 years.
Before the sun rises, campus students gather to discuss strategy and game plans in order to collect at least $1600 in a matter of hours. For the 26th annual Kid’s Day event, volunteers from all areas of the city stand on street corners to help raise money for Children’s Hospital, Central California, March 5. Student Leadership and The Feather staff teamed up to sell The Fresno Bee’s special-edition paper for a suggested $1 donation to drivers at the intersections of Cedar/Alluvial and Maple/Alluvial.
There was over 30 distributing sights, partnered by The Fresno Bee and ABC 30. The goal for the city was to earn $480,000 to be able to provide necessary funding for the hospital’s needs. With about 50 students total, the groups were able to dance, sing and wave newspapers in the air to attract attention to the city-wide fundraiser. Last year FC raised $1,605.88 in funds, but this year the total surpassed previous year’s, totaling $1,800.57.
Campus students arrived at the corners at 4 a.m. and sold just before the beginning of class at 8 a.m. The Fresno Bee prints about 380,000 copies of the Kid’s Day paper, which would be three times the amount they print on a daily basis.
Volunteers range from students at high schools or college to local celebrities. At one specific corner, Shaw/Blackstone, most of the community leaders meet to sell newspapers at one of the busiest intersections in town.
Tom Cullinan, publisher for The Fresno Bee, compares the growth of Kid’s Day compared to 26 years ago. The community has stepped up to help support the kids, families and hospital, he said.
“I’ve been working here for all 26 years,” Cullinan said. “The very first Kid’s Day raised $73,000. Now it’s worked its way up to $470,000 and the goal this year is $480,000. Valley Children’s is a special place for the whole Valley, so it’s a way for us to give back to the community. They {Children’s Hospital} see all kinds of kids who can afford to go there or not. I think it’s just really important and that’s why we’ve been involved all these years.”
For Ed Galdrikian, the retired 35-year advisor for Washington Union High School’s newspaper, he has been involved as both a donator and volunteer since the annual event began.
“Kid’s Day to me means that Children’s Hospital has a chance to make some money that they weren’t able to get before by donations,” Galdrikian said. “Young people who have ailments, diseases are not able to function on a regular basis need the help. And if we can help them be as strong as we are, we want to encourage that; it’s very important. I’ve been donating to the Kid’s Day paper since the 1990s, since it first started. I hope the day comes when the Fresno public donates, and we don’t have to have a newspaper to do it.”
While some have been long-time participants to Kid’s Day some campus students had their first chance to be a part of this day. For the first time, being a member of both student leadership and journalism, freshman Justin Houts took part in the event.
“I had a good time participating in my first Kid’s Day,” Houts said. “In the past I’e purchased papers but have never been involved in selling them. I enjoyed being around my friends and getting to hang out with them in the morning. If I ever have to sell them in the future I’ll have positive attitude about it.”
As a student at Clovis West High School, Jacob Vanderbeek, ’16, set up with his fellow students at 5:30 a.m. to start selling newspapers in the hopes of raising a good amount of money for Valley Children’s. Vanderbeek is happy to help with this day, to try and help lessen the loads of those parents with their kids medical bills.
“This is my second year participating in Kid’s Day,” Vanderbeek said. “Us Clovis West kids got here at 5:30 to start selling papers. Kid’s Day is a lot of fun, especially getting all the donations from people driving by. It’s nice to help raise money for kids in need at Valley Children’s who can’t afford all their medical bills.”
California State University, Fresno student Taylor Abourezk, also a member of Sigma Alpha Sorority, participated in Kid’s Day for the first time. Abourezk appreciates the time spent with her friends and so many others who are trying to raise funds for Valley Children’s Hospital.
“My sorority has been doing this for a while now but this is my first year,” Abourezk said. “We’ve been out here since 12 a.m. but it’s been fun trying to flag down people to sell the papers. I love Kids Day because it’s a chance to give back to Valley Children’s and the community as a whole.”
Ryan Rios, employee at Swim America, has regained his position on the corner to sell papers after taking a little break. Rios is happy to be back to try to help Valley Children’s as well as the community. He encourages the Fresno community to get more involved with the production of Kid’s Day.
“I took a little break from helping out with Kid’s Day so this is my first year in about three years helping out,” Rios said. “This day is a great chance to act goofy and help the community at the same time. It starts off the day early and hopefully we can raise some money along the way. Valley Children’s is so close to our community so we should all come together to help them out. It’s a great way to stay in touch with our community and what’s going on.”
As a member of student leadership, senior Logan Rood had the opportunity to become a part of Kid’s Day. Rood appreciated the opportunity to be a bigger part of the Fresno community. She enjoyed the time spent working for a good purpose, despite having to wake up in the early hours of the day.
“This was my first year participating in Kid’s Day,” Rood said. “My experience was bitter-sweet. Of course I hated getting up early but I loved knowing that I was helping out kids in need. If I get the opportunity to participate again I totally will. I think Kid’s Day is a great way to get the Fresno Community working together for a good cause.”
Police Chief Jerry Dyer is one of the many community leaders who sells papers at Shaw/Blackstone. He has a personal tie to the hospital and believes the community should not take it for granted.
“Children’s Hopsital of Central California is something near and dear to me,” Dyer. “When my kids were young, I had both my children there for short periods of time. When you think about how fortunate we are to have that hospital right here in our backyard, we should do things like this. We sometimes take for granted places like Children’s Hospital, but it’s important for us as a community to really get behind it and support it financially. So whatever I can do, whatever the Police Department can do to support Children’s Hospital we’re going to do it. People can either sit back and complain about things or get involved, so I say get involved.”
Bill McEwen, Editorial Page Editor for The Fresno Bee, enjoys his time spent participating in Kid’s Day, having been participating for 26 years, since the beginning. Due to his personal connection to Valley Children’s, McEwen appreciates all the efforts put towards this day. McEwen has had both of his children have surgery at the hospital, so he remains grateful for the work they have done.
“I’ve been a part of Kid’s Day since the beginning,” McEwen said. “I got involved because I work at The Fresno Bee and both of my kids have had surgery at Valley Children’s. There are two main goals that The Fresno Bee hopes are reached. One is to raise as much money as we can for the hospital; our goal for this year being $480,000. Another goal is to raise awareness in the community about the many children who are fighting for their lives at Valley Children’s.”
These writers can be reached via Twitter: @TyninFries and @viv_hinojosa. Follow Children’s Hospital, Central California via Twitter: @CareForKids. Follow The Feather via Twitter: @thefeather.
For more information, read The Fresno Bee’s March 5 article, Kids Day 2013: Photos, video, tweets (Storify). For more features, read the March 1 article, Girls Scouts teaches life lessons, skills for future.
