Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Kampaign For Kids


There is a high chance that you have been touched by Arkansas Children's Hospital. Maybe your child has received treatment there or maybe you have friends that have used ACH. We are truly blessed to have a facility like ACH in our state.

About 5 years ago, I was a representative of KAIT for the Children's Miracle Network telethon. I was given a tour of the facilities at Arkansas Children's Hospital. I was a new parent and looked at the hospital from a perspective that I might not have looked from prior to becoming a parent. As I walked through the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), I began to cry. There were babies smaller than my palm. It simply broke me down. I was a grown man crying in front of people I had just met only an hour or so prior. One of the people giving me the tour looked at me and said... "Don't worry, most of the babies are going to grow up and live perfect lives". It quickly cheered me up.

This year, I am serving on the Kampaign For Kids committee to raise money for ACH in conjunction with the Paragould chapter of Circle of Friends.

During the past two months, both of my boys have been in the hospital. One of them is at home in a half-body cast right now. We did not have to use the facilities at ACH this time, but the idea of using ACH was brought to the front of my mind... again.

Having your children in the hospital is bad enough... Worrying about bills, treatment, etc does not need to be an added burden to families across our state. Together we can make sure that every child in our state has the opportunity to use ACH.

Please help us raise money for ACH during this year's Kampaign For Kids! You can contact me at rvaughan@kait8.com and I will fill out a pledge form for you OR you can send money the address below. Put my name as a commitee member in a letter when you send it:


Arkansas Children's Hospital Foundation, Greene County KFK
800 Marshall Street, Slot 661, Little Rock, Arkansas 72202


Thank You for considering a pledge. I will have this posted on my blog for a couple of weeks. Collect Money at work, church, or wherever! I look forward to hearing from all of you!


Ryan

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ryan,

I thank you very much for your support. It is a very special place in our heart. I have alway said that if anyone was to walk thru the NICU one time it would change them forever it did me. Thank you very much for posting this on you blog. I hope George is doing well tonight we are praying for your family during this time.

Anonymous said...

I was struck by your quote from the NICU tour: Don't worry, most of the babies are going to grow up and live perfect lives...

Our neighbor's daughter was 2 lbs at birth and, as one might expect, was in NICU for quite some time. I believe she spent some time at Arkansas Children's, but I'm not sure. In any case, we just celebrated her 18th birthday earlier this year. Everyone who was at the party had either seen her in person when she was that small, or had seen the photos. I belong to the latter group, and can attest that she was one of those palm-sized babies. Being at her party, and seeing her closest friends and family who had cared for her so well through the years, was a powerful experience. It was as if everyone present was, in their own way, standing back and taking her in, knowing what she faced when she entered the world, and that, yes, she was making her way through life as we all do. --Thanks for bringing this cause to your blog. :)

Anonymous said...

Ryan,

It was great seeing you earlier today. Thanks for adding this to your blog. We appreciate your serving on the KFK committee, and we are certain the Greene County KFK will be successful!

Take care, and I hope the hunt tomorrow morning is a good one...

Will