Phone bank bene?ts Children’s Hospital

Aaron Shah noticed his 4-year-old son Ahmad had a fever and decided to take him to the emergency room. Ahmad had H1N1, and later that August night, doctors told Shah his son might not see the next morning.

“We are grateful to God that we live in Chapel Hill and that we live close by the hospital,” Shah said.

On Thursday, Shah, Ahmad and Ahmad’s twin brother Aaron returned to the N.C. Children’s Hospital to retell their story during the N.C. Children’s Promise, a radio telethon and the hospital’s largest fundraiser.

The Shahs joined about 40 other families who shared their stories on air, said Danielle Bates, the hospital communications manager.

The radio telethon raised $1,007,594 in pledges and donations, nearly three times as much as Dance Marathon raised last year.

Sixteen of Curtis Media Group’s radio stations and News 14 Carolina broadcast live from the lobby of the hospital to encourage viewers to donate.

A phone bank, staffed by volunteers, filled the lobby of the women’s hospital to receive listener donations.

“When you have family and grandchildren, it makes you realize how important this is,” said Karen Cheek, a phone bank volunteer.

Cheek answered calls from listeners for a two-hour morning shift.

“They have been very giving, and they talk about how blessed they are,” she said.

Corporate sponsors, doctors and nurses also talked about the importance of donations.

“It is for the children of North Carolina by the community of North Carolina,” said Don Curtis, the CEO of Curtis Media Group.

“We simply ask people to do what they can. These aren’t somebody else’s kids. These are our kids.”

The first radiothon, held in 2002, raised more than $183,000, one donation at a time, Curtis said.

“It became a pep rally for the hospital,” he said. “At that point, we were hooked.”

The event has grown to include live performances. Five artists, including country stars Craig Morgan and Jake Owen, took the stage in the lobby.

The majority of the planning began in August, Bates said, but the event is always at the forefront of the staff’s minds.

“Months and countless hours go into the radio telethon every year,” Bates said. “It’s unpredictable the day of. You plan the best you can, and you cross your fingers and hope for the best.”

As money came in, Aaron and Ahmad played in the lobby and talked into microphones. Ahmad, who spent two of three weeks at the hospital in critical condition, showed almost no signs of his recent illness.

To better care for Ahmad, Shah resigned from his job as a computer analyst with the Office of Arts and Sciences Information Services.

When Ahmad left the hospital, Shah had to teach him how to walk again, he said.

“The only thing I could rely on were these awesome doctors and the grace of God,” Shah said.



Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.