Hoosier credit unions join in support of Riley Hospital
December 5, 2000
More than 100 credit union offices across the state have decided to
"Light Up a Child’s Life" this holiday season by selling holiday
cards created by young patients at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. [NAME
OF CREDIT UNION IN YOUR AREA] is one of those credit unions. Cards are
available for purchase until Christmas Eve.
All of the money collected through card sales will support the Light Up a
Child’s Life program. Five designs are being sold separately and as part of a
variety pack. Each pack contains 10 cards and sells for $5.
"The credit unions’ philosophy of people helping people is so closely
aligned with the hospital’s objectives that this partnership made sense for us
immediately," said Kandi Karban, assistant Children’s Miracle Network
(CMN) director at Riley Hospital. "The distribution network the credit
unions represent provides a convenient way for thousands of Hoosiers to purchase
the cards. Having the cards available for sale at credit unions in more than 35
cities will increase awareness of the Light Up a Child’s Life program and
allow the hospital to touch even more children’s lives in the future."
In addition to the card distributors, Riley Hospital has several other
sponsors of this annual event. Prominent media sponsors include Indianapolis
radio station WENS-97 FM and NBC television affiliate WTHR-13. The media
sponsors will run promotional spots through December to encourage card sales.
"I’m so pleased that our credit unions have rallied around this
project," said Kay Neidlinger, director of public relations for the Indiana
Credit Union League. "It allows us to strengthen our connection to Riley,
giving them support for a key fundraising effort. Because of the other sponsors
who are also part of this project, there is an opportunity for thousands of
people to know about the cooperative spirit that is present at Indiana’s
credit unions."
The artists represent four Indiana cities. Shawn Fales is a
high-school student in Elkhart who is being treated for cystic fibrosis. Jamisha
Gray, a seventh grader at Shortridge Junior High School in Indianapolis,
was treated in Riley’s pediatric burn unit. She returns for regular visits.
Sixth-grader Olivia Pohl attends Northwestern Elementary in Kokomo.
She was a patient at Riley Hospital while fighting pneumonia. Jessica Young
is Indiana’s Children’s Miracle Network Champion for 2000. A 12-year-old who
attends Lynwood Elementary in Indianapolis, Jessica suffers from a rare
lung disease called pulmonary hemosiderosis. Michael Anglin attended
Flaget Elementary in Vincennes. He was treated for acute lymphoid
leukemia and received a bone marrow transplant. Michael will be remembered by
his friends at Riley Hospital as a wonderful young man who fought a hard battle.
Funds raised by the Light Up a Child’s Life program are used for those
things that make a children’s hospital different from one used by the general
population, including play therapy, tutoring and the hospital’s closed circuit
television system. This program also funds developmental advocacy.
The cards are also on sale at Kroger food stores and participating Dairy
Queen restaurants and Cellular One locations.
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