Elizabethtown Area Grange #2076 Participates in Fundraiser

On Sunday, February 24th, Elizabethtown Grange #2076 participated in the 2008 “I Care For Kids” Radiothon. The staff from The Big I-105 radio station hosted the annual event to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. The event was held at Lancaster Harley Davidson/Buell, and sponsored in part by Giant Foodstores.

The Radiothon started on Friday afternoon and ran till Sunday at 2pm. Listeners pledged a total of 833 “$20 X 12” donations ($20 per month for 12 months, or $240). With additional monetary contributions, over $200,000 was raised to upgrade a pediatric operating room super suite at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital in Hershey. All of the money pledged stays in the local area.

Manning the Phone Banks From left, Becky Smith, Susan Espenshade, PA State Grange Master Betsy Huber, and Lois Herr take phone pledges during the “I Care For Kids” Radiothon.

Front row: Susan Espenshade, Deidra Bollinger, Charlene Espenshade Back row: Matt Espenshade with Evan, Becky Smith, Betsy Huber, Lois Herr, I-105 Radio personalities Casey Allyn and Jerry Murphy

Members and friends of Elizabethtown Grange #2076 volunteered to man the phone banks for the final 3 hours of the Radiothon. When the Grangers started their shift, the pledge board read that a total of 550 “$20 X 12’s” had been pledged. With a flurry of calls in the last hour, the Radiothon met its goal, and surpassed it! In the three hours operating the phone bank, the Grange volunteers handled over $68,000 in pledges.

A special thanks goes out to the Grange members that helped at the Radiothon: Deidra Bollinger, Charlene Espenshade, Susan Espenshade, Lois Herr, Pa. State Grange Master Betsy Huber, Becky Smith, Matt Espenshade.

This was the third time in the four year history of the Radiothon that Elizabethtown Grange has manned the phone banks for the finale.

During the Radiothon, many families with children in need of the special care provided at Hershey were interviewed. “The stories shared over the weekend touched the hearts of many. It made me so thankful that my own child is in good health. However, it is comforting to know that there is a facility like Hershey right in my area if the need would arise,” said Matt Espenshade, Master of Elizabethtown Grange.

“There are fundraising events like this throughout the state for Childen’s Hospitals in your area. This is a great community service opportunity for local Granges. I encourage you to look for ways your Grange can be involved in worthwhile events, such as this,” said Espenshade.