If You Can

Current mood: hopeful

This week marks the coming of another milestone for me. Thursday and Friday are the days of the annual KHEY St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Radiothon. This will be my eleventh and final radiothon with KHEY.

When I first started my radio career, I was a board-op. I worked the undesirable shifts when pre-programmed shows would air and I would be off-air handling the commercial load, news feeds and the like. It was boring, but good for me because I was in school full-time and it gave me time to study without too many distractions.

I had "won" my position at a city-wide talent search for a new morning show jock. I came in second to a television news reporter who was looking to broaden her horizons. She lasted a few months in the job, but I got the best end of the deal because I learned hands-on how to handle a shift. I could produce my own show, once I learned the ropes. Somehow it clicked with me and I was a relatively quick study.

K.T. left the position after a few months. She generallly worked the late news shift and coming in for a morning show which went on the air at 6am must have been grueling for her. During that time, I started working my own on-air shift on Saturday nights. I was air-checking with our Operations Manager regularly adn I was improving. Our station was also in a time of transition as our Program Director, Danny, was leaving. He held on longer than he wanted to because our General Manager hadn't found a replacement for him. Danny needed someone to work the board while the staff did the radiothon from a local mall, so he asked me. That was my first long-term remote broadcast. It wasn't entirely perfect, but I did ok.

Shortly after that, our new PD, CM, came to town. He was full of energy and wanted to make a killing in the ratings. For a while, he was just what we needed. He had infused our station with his drive and it was a very good thing. He was the person who fought to bring a female voice to the morning show again. I was the one he wanted. He, and Mr. Randy and I all seemed to gel very well together. We had a few months before it was time again for the radiothon. That year was when the importance of the radiothon became a reality to me.

I worked two incredibly long thirteen hour days. But, I learned so much. I learned about the human spirit and what life means to a child. I met a local girl who had survived Acute Lymphotic Leukemia (ALL), which is the most common type of childhood cancer. I heard her speak about what she could remember of her ordeal and I listened intently as her mother spoke about the impact Tori's illness had on her. I cried with her, I soaked in what she said and I thanked God that I hadn't had to endure that kind of tragedy. And, that was the beginning of a relationship with St. Jude which has touched my heart and changed my life.

St. Jude is truly an amazing place. This is a place where children go to live. The halls of this hospital do not bring to mind the hospitals that you and I know and hate. It looks more like a child care center. There are murals and wagons and aquariums and busy bead tables as much as there are catheters and chemotherapy. The hospital staffs social workers and counselors to aid not only the patients receiving treatment but also the families who suffer alongside them. They nurture and teach and encourage. They reach out and embrace all who enter the doors behind a massive statue of St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, regardless of race, creed, color, religion, or most importantly, a patient's ability to pay for treatment.

That's right, St. Jude never turns a patient away for financial reasons. If a patient has no insurance, the bill is paid and the family will never see an invoice, statement or bill. NEVER. If a patient is covered by insurance, they never pay a co-pay and are never charged for anything not covered by their policy. And again, no statements, no bills, no fees. How beautiful is that?

St. Jude is funded by private donations. As of last year's statistics, more than 82% of all funds was applied directly to patient treatment and research. That is more than any other non-profit organization in our country. That means that less than seventeen cents of every dollar raised is used for administrative fees and advertising costs, which help generate more donations. We seek Partners in Hope to help us in our quest to end childhood catastrophic illnesses.

What does a Partner in Hope do? The most important part of what a PIH does is save the lives of children. Through a Partner's generous donation of just $20 per month, St. Jude is able to treat and explore illnesses which affect innocent kids, thereby saving them from suffering, saving them from death, and saving their families from insurmountable loss. Your $20 puts more than $16.40 in the hands of researchers. It buys IV bags. It supplies port-catheters which deliver life-saving chemotherapy to kids who might otherwise die if they didn't have treatment. And, that $3.60 I didn't mention helps to make sure the hospital is staffed and runs effectively, that it is clean, that more life-saving dollars can come in to save more kids.

If you don't have kids, you might wonder why this is such an important entity to support. That's fair. Now, allow me to educate you. Researchers at St. Jude work day in and day out looking for things like genetic markers which signal that some children will likely develop certain types of cancer. That research helps scientists develop things like new drug protocols to fight cancer and other catastrophic illnesses. These protocols don't just help kids. These new treatment options are being used to treat adults stricken with cancer as well.

And just what are the other catastrophic illnesses about which I speak? Influenza, HIV/AIDS, Sickle Cell, and many, many others. Docotors at St. Jude have helped in the development of the Flu vaccines so many of us take every winter in an attempt to stay well. The most beautiful part of this research is that when the scientists and doctors at St. Jude find a cure and eventually the ability to prevent the onset of cancer and other diseases affecting children, that treatment protocol will be given away. Yes, you read correctly. The cure will be freely given away. Pharmeceutical companies are conducting research of their own, as we speak, but they will never give their research or treatment methods away. St. Jude will and they will never ask anyone for a dime when they do. And, I believe with every fiber of my existence that these researchers and scientists and doctors will find both a cure and the measures needed to prevent these illnesses. There is nothing greater than that.

St. Jude was founded when the actor Danny Thomas was down and out. Danny's wife had just given birth to their first child, a daughter they named Margaret Julia. We would later come to know her as Marlo Thomas, an actress of much critical acclaim. At the time of Marlo's birth, Danny was an out of work actor with just a few dollars to his name. Knowing he didn't have enough money to pay the hospital bill to get Marlo and his wife, Rose Marie out of the hospital, he attended a mass. He was so moved during the service that he put his last $7 in the collection plate and prayed to St. Jude the following prayer: Help me find my way in life and I will build you a shrine. The next day he was offered a job which paid $70, ten times more than he had placed in the collection plate. Shortly thereafter, his career took a turn for the better and he became a well-known actor.

And build, he did. Chosing Memphis, Tennessee as the location of the hospital, Danny sought out the support of local business leaders to help him fund the initial phases of the project. He carefully chose Memphis as the location because it was a location central to most Americans. It was, and still is, just a day's travel away from any location in the United States. Danny carefully orchestrated fundraising efforts and even loaded up the family station wagon with his wife and growing family to criss-cross the country seeking out those willing to help him fulfill his promise to St. Jude.

By 1960, Danny and his organization, ALSAC (American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities), were ready to fund the hospital but faced the task of operating funds to run the facility. In 1962, the doors of the hospital opened with the pledge that, "No child should die in the dawn of life."

So, I ask today that you help us continue Danny Thomas' dream. Please listen to KHEY 96.3 (www.khey.com) this Thursday and Friday from 6am-7pm MST. I will be guest co-hosting from 10am-2pm MST both days. If you are able, you may call in to the toll-free number we will provide and become a Partner in Hope. If it is more convenient, you may go to the station's website and become a Partner by clicking on the St. Jude link. I understand that these are difficult times and our current economic situation is affecting everyone. If $20 a month is not something you are able to do, consider joining with a friend or loved one to share the Partnership. Or, you can always make a one time donation. There is no more noble cause than that which strives to better the lives of children.

Please join me and the staff of KHEY this Thursday and Friday for two days which will change not only the lives of children, but also your own.

Currently listening:Thank You St. JudeBy Peter CaseRelease date: 2004-05-04