Have you ever wondered what it’s like for the SickKids families who come forward and share their personal stories on air? It can be nerve-wracking, exciting, emotional and sometimes really tough. But they do it because they believe in SickKids. They do it because they’ve experienced first-hand the compassionate care, groundbreaking research and collaborative learning that takes place at the Hospital.
Below is a message that Russell Smith, father to Sarah who passed away in March, wrote on his CaringBridge page about Radiothon on Tuesday. Russell, and families like the Smiths, is why we do the work we do. Listen to Russell and his family on Newstalk 1010 for the next hour. Each donation made during this hour will go towards the Sarah Smith Fund to support the Brain Tumour Research Centre at SickKids.
Donate online or call 1-877-798-KIDS (5437).
A Tribute to Sarah
We are once again humbled and honoured to be part of a very special event that is a direct result of the incredible impact that Sarah had on almost everyone that she met.
As many of you know, we have participated in the SickKids Radiothon since 2007. Sarah first went “on air” on March 29, 2007, she said Hi to everyone but kept pretty quiet after that. Mommy and Daddy did most of the talking and it was nice to tell people how well Sarah was doing and how much SickKids had helped us in those first few intense months. Sarah was such a big hit that she was invited back to be the star of the show in the final Power Hour that was simulcast on all three Toronto radio stations involved. It was a chaotic and emotional hour but it was great to see over a 1,000 people call in during that hour and even better to hear that the three day radiothon raised over $3.7 Million for SickKids.
As we continued to participate in annual radiothons, Sarah made fast friends with many of the radio personalities and behind the scenes staff who attend each year and she became quite chatty when confronted with a microphone. Many of them were saddened to hear during this year’s radiothon planning meetings that Sarah had passed away and they decided to honour Sarah’s memory in a very unique way, in fact this has never been done before!
This year, an entire hour of the one day radiothon will be dedicated to Sarah and all the funds raised during that hour will be directed towards the Sarah Smith Fund to support the Brain Tumour Research Centre at SickKids. This is an incredible testament to Sarah’s life and we are so proud to do this in Sarah’s memory. This will be our first time at SickKids without Sarah and we know it will be a tough, emotional day, but we think it is so important to raise awareness (and dollars) for the good work that SickKids does every day for every child who is diagnosed with a brain tumour that walks through their doors. Despite all their efforts, Brain Tumours remain the #1 cause of death by cancer in children; continued research is the only way to change this.
Please listen and support this incredible cause starting at 8AM this Thursday morning May 5th, 2011 - we will be live on Newstalk 1010 AM, if you aren’t in the Toronto area, you can listen live here on the internet from anywhere in the world at 8AM Toronto time.
We Will ALWAYS BELIEVE in Sarah.
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