Wednesday, December 7th, 2022

On a gray December afternoon, students representing City and Liberty High Schools drove to the Stead Family Children’s Hospital to officially present the check from proceeds of shirts sold for the Clash at Kinnick football game. Superintendent Degner and the principals from City and Liberty along with students involved with the game, including football, dance, cheerleading, and marching band, were in attendance to present the check. Principal John Bacon said the idea to donate the shirt sale proceeds was made jointly between the district and high schools.

“We weren’t trying to profit from T-shirt sales and instead we felt like keeping with the spirit of the wave that we all engaged in and also wanted to be able to make a gift to Children’s Hospital,” Bacon said. “I thought it was the perfect choice for the beneficiary of the proceeds from shirt sales.”

Taylor Reyhons Assistant Director of Development for Community Fundraising Events at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital helped accept the check for the hospital. It’s normal for her to accept large donations to the children’s hospital on almost a daily basis.

“We get donations like this quite often. Last year, we worked with about 100 groups that gave donations like this in the community,” Reyhons said.

She elaborated that the donation exceeding four thousand dollars will be used for the Children’s Hospital’s greatest needs. This could be anything from patient or clinical care, to research, to necessities of equipment.

“The impact is limitless because anything from $1 and up matters here,” Reyhons explained. “For example, $100 can find an end-of-chemotherapy party for a patient that has beaten cancer, or $5 helps buy a couple of diapers for somebody in the NICU, whatever it may be, it matters.”

Going over to the check presentation was a moving experience according to Bacon. He was glad to learn about how the money would go into the work the hospital does and the number of lives that it will impact.

“I think anything we can do to support the Children’s Hospital is an extremely worthy beneficiary,” Bacon said.