Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Riley Radio Days has been raising money for the KC Riley Kids Fund and Riley Hospital for Children since 2012, hitting the $1 million mark in 2021.
Today and Friday, the annual event continues to tell the stories of Riley Hospital for Children families and raise money for the fund and hospital.
“We’re, I think, well north of $1.2 (million) at this point,” said KC Riley Kids Fund co-founder Alan Alderfer today at 107.3 WRSW during day one of the two-day Riley Radio Days.
Kris Lake, host of the Lake City Morning Show on 107.3 WRSW, said, “I think we never really set goals, and that’s kind of what makes Riley Radio Days unique, is that anything we raise is going to be more than we had yesterday, and so it’s nice to hit certain numbers but anything we get we’re very fortunate to have. There’s so many people who give and so we don’t really set numbers as far as goals are concerned, but the next big milestone, I guess, would be $1.5 million, so we’ll take it!”
Alderfer said as long as there are sick children in this community, they’re going to raise money.
“That’s my feeling. If we can cure all the sick kids, we’ll quit raising money, but until then, we’re going to keep doing it,” he stated.
The KC Riley Kids Fund was started in 2011 at the Kosciusko County Community Foundation by Mike Bergen and Alderfer, who both have children that needed care at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. The KC Riley Kids Fund provides support to Riley Hospital and financial assistance to the families of Kosciusko County children who are patients at Riley Hospital.
“Mike had Ben. Ben had heart surgery there. Spent a good month there, went through all that. Made a lot of trips back and forth,” Alderfer said. “And then (my daughter) Katherine, 15 years ago, was diagnosed with Dermatomyositis and she’s been going there, still goes there. She still is a patient there. But we saw the need of these people. What really hit me were the kids that were sitting in their rooms in the hospital, no parent there because they couldn’t afford to be there. We don’t ever want that to happen to somebody in Kosciusko County.”
For this year’s Riley Radio Days, Lake said there are several new families telling their stories.
“One of them is, her name is Ashlynn Corn, and she goes to Wawasee High School. She was diagnosed with leukemia, and so she actually came in and recorded her story and was able to tell us all about her treatment and how that went, and also share the news of when she was declared cancer free and got to ring the bell at Riley Children’s Hospital. So that’s a brand new one this year,” he said.
Oftentimes, people will call in or stop in to the radio station during Riley Radio Days to tell their stories organically, Lake stated, “which is really cool and special, too.”
Even in the 15th year of Riley Radio Days, Alderfer said every year there’s one or two moments that stops him in his tracks.
“It hits you on what these poor little kids are going through, but also what their families are going through. It really does. It’s very humbling to hear these stories and really to look into the mirror and say how lucky are we that we’re not having to go through that,” Alderfer said.
Lake stated, “We’ve been hearing some of these stories for 13 years, plus more than 13 years, and as Alan said, you can’t help but still feel for the families that are going through this, and some of the kids have passed on, so they’re not great stories. They don’t end with a great outcome, and those always will still get you and you’ll feel a connection to them no matter what.”
He said it’s hard and sometimes you have to take a step out and get some fresh air, but, “we’re lucky, we’re so lucky to be able to do this. There are emotional stories for sure.”
Alderfer said what hits him the most is when they’ve had families that have used the fund and then they come back and donate to it.
“We had one of those this week, and to me that’s the power of they know how important it is. When you’re at your lowest, you can get a gas card to get you down to Riley Children’s Hospital, but they know that and then they give back and they support the fund. That’s the power of the fund,” Alderfer said.
The money raised goes to the Kosciusko County Community Foundation, who handle the KC Riley Kids Fund. “And then at that point, what happens, is half of the money instantly gets sent down to Riley Children’s Hospital, and then they’re able to use it for research, they’re able to use it for music therapy, art therapy and things that are not reimbursed by insurance. And then the rest of the money stays right here in Kosciusko County and it helps buy gas cards, hotels, food cards and anyway that we can help these Riley families, just make it easier for them,” Alderfer explained.
He’s not surprised at all by how much people give and that they continue to give.
“Kris and I never make a goal of a certain number. That’s not the way we work. Whatever money we raise is more money for these families. So I’m not ever surprised anymore because Kosciusko County wants to come out and they want to support these families. They know these families, they go to church with these families, they work with these families, they go to school with these families and they want to make sure they’re taken care of,” Alderfer said.
Lake stated, “And that’s the part I guess I’m surprised by, is that they continue to want to give. The number kind of ebbs and flows with the economy, of course, but they always come through and that’s the part that does shock me: They never really let us down.”
As an example of a story that has stuck with Alderfer, he recalled, “I think the one that hits us every year, we talk about it every year, is we saw a little kid coming in with his piggy bank, and he came in with his piggy bank and he unloaded it on the front desk, and that money that he had there was his money he was going to take to Disney to spend. You talk about powerful. When you have a little kid who’s been listening to the Riley Radio Days and he gives his money he was going to spend at Disney, that’s powerful.”
Another story, he related, is when Explorer Van employees come in every year and donate every time. “We’re always excited to see (them) because they’re always so excited to raise money for this fund and they do it themselves. It’s awesome,” Alderfer said.
Lake said a lot of businesses pass the hat around and they challenge each other.
“There’s a lot of cool moments that happen organically,” he said.
If anyone happened to miss Riley Radio Days or wants to give this weekend, they can still give online through Monteith’s Best One Tire & Auto Care Online Donation Center, which can be found online at www.1073wrsw.com, according to Alderfer. Lake said they will leave that live all weekend long and into next week.
“Anybody can donate anytime, even if they can’t get in the next day or two,” Lake said.
A tentative total will be announced at 7 p.m. Friday, but anything donated over the weekend will count toward that final total. The “official” final tally will be announced Monday on the radio.
“... This will continue as long as it needs to. We hope that we don’t have to some day, but we will continue to do it until we don’t have to do it,” Lake said of Riley Radio Days. “So, this may exist long beyond Alan’s and my time here, and that’s fine. We hope it does. If there’s a need, we’ll continue doing it.”
