Caring for KIDS Radiothon: Part One
6 Feb 2013

Caring for KIDS Radiothon: Part One

By Ashley Simpson, Marketing Coordinator

This week, Cedarglen Homes is taking part in the Caring for KIDS Radiothon, supporting the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation (ACHF). 2013 marks the 10th Annual Radiothon supporting children and families in Calgary, throughout Alberta and Canada. From February 6th to 8th, you can listen LIVE on the Country 105 radio station, with updates and donation information being broadcast. The Radiothon wraps up on Friday, around the same time I have been invited to tour the Alberta Children’s Hospital (check back next week for Part Two, where I blog about my visit!) Cedarglen Homes is excited to make a donation for every home sold this month, so get out there and start house shopping! (There are other ways to support this cause other than buying a house, see below)

Here’s a bit of background information on the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation:

The biggest part of the Radiothon is collecting donations! Where your donations come into play is helping to fund the research, equipment, and programs to help diagnose and treat the kids that enter the hospital. The Alberta Children’s Hospital Pediatric Critical Care Transport Program (also known as PCCTP) assists children across western Canada in need of live-saving care. This team of experts works as a mobile Intensive Care Unit for kids, traveling by plane, helicopter, or ambulance to pediatric crises.

The PCCTP team is often sent to smaller communities, where the latest equipment or experts may not be available at a general hospital. In other cases, it could be to transport a seriously ill child to the Alberta Children’s Hospital. Online, the Children’s Hospital website talks about Erin, a six-year-old girl living in Lethbridge with Urea Cyclic Disorder. After a sudden onset of illness, the PCCTP team was on their way out to administer a life-saving injection before being swiftly rushed to the Alberta Children’s Hospital.

I was very touched by the library of interview clips on the Children’s Hospital website. These recordings feature families who have been helped by the ACHF and remind us why this event is so special. I listened to a few of them and they are very touching and sombre. Some end happily and other end with another angel being welcomed into heaven. Even still, the positivity and optimism in the voices of these mothers and fathers is amazing.

Having spent extensive time in the hospital as a young child, I can understand how frightening it can be. The children supported by the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation will never forget the friendly faces, doctors, staff, crafts, games, and other positive moments at a time when everything else is whizzing past or not making sense at all. Please listen live or visit the Children’s Hospital website for more information or to make a donation; even the smallest amount goes a long way.

Leave your thoughts or comments below!

- Ashley