The Bridge Care Suites Makes a Surprise Visit to St. John's Children's Hospital Marathon and Raises Over $3000 in 30 Minutes

 

November 22, 2013

It all started with an innocent phone call. John Laurenzana, Associate Executive Director of The Bridge Care Suites was on an early morning phone call with Brian Levinson, one of the owners of The Bridge Care Suites.  John was explaining that he was going to step out of the building in the morning to drive down to St. John's Hospital to donate $500 to the St. John's Children's Hospital during their annual radio-thon fundraiser.  From there, everything started to develop.

 

Brian Levinson asked what the radio-thon was for and what exactly St. John's Children's Hospital does within the community.  John explained that they treat roughly 50,000 children each year from our local community in a wide range of care ranging from infant birth to more acute care for kids that are very ill. Without skipping a beat, Brian said that The Bridge will match those funds, bringing the total donation to $1,000.

 

John then asked if he would be willing to bump that total up a little more since all of the money donated stays right here in our community, and since we used all local labor when we were building The Bridge, and most of our guests are from right here in our community, we should really step up this year and help the local community that much more.  Brian agreed, and offered another $500 with the caveat that they would be in matching funds if John could find people to match his contribution.

 

$1,000 in hand and another potential $500 on the line, John drove down to St. John's Children's Hospital where he met with on-air personalities from WDBR and the organizer of the Children's Miracle Network to explain the details.  John went on air to explain the $1,000 contribution and that there was another potential $500 up for donation from The Bridge Care Suites if the community would match the funds within 15 minutes.  It took half that time for the community to step up and match those funds, plus a little extra.

 

With $2,000 being raised, the on-air personalities began to thank John for his time.  John looked down at his watch and realized he had 30 more minutes before he needed to be back in the office.  With that said, he offered to match funds himself, offering up another $500 if the community would match those funds yet again in 15 minutes or less.

 

The Springfield community responded overwhelmingly, and within 15 minutes had met and exceeded both $500 match offers by a large margin.  Within 30 minutes, The Bridge Care Suites nearly doubled the total donations that were brought in, helping to raise well over $3000+ within a 30 minute time frame.

 

These funds, along with the rest of the money raised over the 26-hour marathon, go directly back in to our community health options for local children that truly need a miracle.  We realize that children may not be treated at The Bridge Care Suites, but that does not keep us from focusing on the entire community of care.

 

St. John's Children's Hospital treats children from our local community by offering some of the following services:

 

For more information on St. John's Children's Hospital, or to donate, visit their web page at http://www.sjchildrens.com/childrens/home.aspx