Big Change Roundup Fundraising Drive Raises $353,500 to Support University of Vermont Children’s Hospital

Community Support Ensures High-Quality Care for Children in Vermont and Northern New York

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Children receiving care at University of Vermont Children’s Hospital will benefit from 98.9 WOKO’s annual Big Change Roundup for Kids that raised an impressive total of $353, 484.41, thanks to hundreds of donations from community members, businesses, patients, and families.

This year’s fundraising campaign saw high levels of engagement from individual fundraisers known as bandits, fundraising teams known as posses, as well as community groups and volunteers from throughout the region. Major sponsors were also essential to this year’s success. They include Maplefields, New England Federal Credit Union, Med Associates Inc., and SD Ireland. The team at Maplefields raised over $113,000, the largest singular donation in Big Change Roundup history.

“The Big Change Roundup is the largest signature fundraiser for UVM Children’s Hospital, and we could not provide such high quality, child-friendly care without the support of everyone involved in this event. We are always so amazed by the support we receive from our community, and we’re so grateful for their ongoing commitment to the health and wellbeing of our patients and their families,” said Tatiana Havens, community fundraising supervisor at UVM Children’s Hospital.

The funds raised help pay for medical equipment, Child Life activities that educate, entertain, and improve the health care experience for pediatric patients, and social services and mental health support for children and families that are served by the children’s hospital. All the funds stay local to support the state-of-the-art, child-friendly, family-centered care provided by the UVM Children’s Hospital.

“Philanthropy is critical for enabling us to achieve our mission of providing children and their families with the highest-quality care and support they deserve,” said Lewis First, MD, chief of pediatrics. “We’re so humbled and thankful for the incredible support and participation of so many donors to this year’s Big Change Roundup. Every single cent raised creates a healthier future for the thousands of children and families who will need the pediatric services provided by our UVM Children’s Hospital in the year ahead.”