Through Big Change Roundup, Community Raises Record $356,000 to Support Patient Care at UVM Children’s Hospital
Piece written by Phillip Rau, Sr. Communications Specialist at UVM Health Network
Celebrating the campaign’s 20th anniversary, participants returned to UVM Children’s Hospital at UVM Medical Center for the first time since the COVID pandemic
Big Change Roundup for Kids (BCRU), radio station 98.9 WOKO’s annual campaign supporting the life-changing care delivered every day at University of Vermont Children’s Hospital, set an all-time record on Friday, bringing together volunteers, businesses and individual donors to raise $356,387.88 that will directly support pediatric patients and families.
With 98.9 WOKO broadcasting live from the main lobby donors and special guests joined radio personalities “Wild Bill” Sargent and Sarah Spencer on-air, to speak about the hospital’s impact on patients and families and the importance of family-centered care that forms the foundation of the annual campaign.
“This event is about friend-raising as much as it is about fundraising,” said Lewis First, MD, chief of pediatrics at UVM Children’s Hospital. “I hope that everyone who participates in the Big Change Roundup comes away from this event feeling like you’re a valued part of our UVM Children’s Hospital family. For everyone who has gone above and beyond by making a donation to the Roundup and understands what it means to have a full-service children’s hospital available to families living in our region of Vermont and northern New York, thank you. We would not be the high quality, state-of the art, child-friendly, family-centered children’s hospital we are without the Big Change Roundup.”
As the tally continued to rise throughout Friday morning, Sunny Eappen, MD, MBA, president and chief executive officer of University of Vermont Health Network, stopped by to share his thanks and support for the hospital and donors who make the campaign a success every year.
“We are so fortunate to have UVM Children’s Hospital serving our region,” said Dr. Eappen. “And we can’t do it without WOKO and the many, many community members who generously donated. We can’t do the work we do for kids and families without that support.”
For Wild Bill, who has been involved in fundraising efforts supporting UVM Children’s Hospital since before Big Change Roundup’s launch, the goal has always remained the same: rally everyone you can to help share the load.
“We are blessed to have a radio station that a lot of people listen to, and it’s always been about rallying our listeners to get involved,” he said. “If everybody gives a little bit then nobody has to carry the burden all on their own. We look at the situations these kids and families are going through and say ‘what can we do to help?’”
Ginger Lubkowitz, chief development officer for UVM Health Network, called the record-setting final result a testament to the passionate support of the UVM Children’s Hospital by individuals and businesses throughout Vermont and northern New York.
“The incredible support Big Change Roundup and UVM Children’s Hospital receive each year from volunteers and donors throughout our region is inspiring,” said Lubkowitz. “This year is particularly special, as we returned in person and celebrated twenty years of individuals and businesses helping make extraordinary pediatric care possible for communities across a rural region that is home to more than one million people. We are so grateful for everyone who has shared their stories, opened their hearts and participated in events that support this incredible institution and the life-changing work that happens every day at UVM Children’s Hospital.”