Behind The Curtain: The Wizards of Fundraising
This is part of a monthly series of "Miracle Memories", personal experiences shared by the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals staff. Todd Grantham, East Region Director, shares his experience with “program directors”. The dedicated individuals at our member hospitals that manage Children's Miracle Network Hospitals programs.
My job takes me on the road fairly regularly, and recently I had the opportunity to visit several member hospitals in North Carolina and Virginia to discuss 2014 and beyond.
The hospital representatives I meet with, better known as “program directors”, are the individuals on the front line of fundraising, every day. They plan events, work with volunteers and hit the roads to visit their corporate partners – true road warriors! They know that the long hours they put in are worth the countless childrens’ lives they help and save.
I started off my visits with Perri Budd and Emily Bootcheck from Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, NC. On the docket: how to quadruple their annual fundraising by 2022. They had no reservations around the enormous increase over the next eight years; they knew that every extra dollar raised goes to another child saved such as Chris Corsi, who was paralyzed following a car accident when he was 17 years old. Funds raised for Chris' Children's Miracle Network Hospital helped with the purchase of a Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) bike for his rehabilitation. This unique, stationary bike uses electrodes to deliver an electrical current to muscles that don't voluntarily work anymore. This helps restore and improve muscle function.
Todd Grantham with Perri Budd and Emily Bootcheck
Next, I headed to the Raleigh-Durham market to spend time with Karen McClure and Keri Christianson, program directors at Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center. These seasoned fundraisers wowed me with their energy and know how. It’s really cool to see how with all their experience they are still looking for new innovative ideas to generate more money for their hospital. More funds, more lives saved!
Greenville, NC was my next destination. There I met with Laura Lee Potter and Val Preddy with James and Connie Maynard Children's Hospital at Vidant Medical Center. Despite the challenge of living in a very small community, this duet raises over $1.5 million annually, for their children’s hospital. I’m amazed at the giving power of their locale and I know the funds raised are the result of the incredible relationships these women have with their surrounding neighborhoods.
My last visit was in Richmond, VA, visiting with Rachel Bruni and Amy Dickstein at Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU. Rachel and Amy do an amazing job serving their children’s hospital. Their passion for the kids is ever present in everything they do and their community is a better place because of this dynamic duo.
It is my honor and privilege to work with these “hospital heroes” and the hundreds of other program directors that dedicate their lives to raising funds for their member hospitals, each and every day. Because of them I am inspired daily to do more for the millions of children our Network hospitals treat.