Garth Brooks' donation helps K99.1FM raise $310,000 for hospital
Musician Garth Brooks speaks in the press room after winning the award for entertainer of the year at the 51st annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
By Mark Gokavi
Garth Brooks and his fellow county music entertainer wife Trisha Yearwood helped K99.1FM's "Cares for Kids" Radiothon gather a record $310,713 in its 20th year raising money for Dayton's Children's Hospital.
Brooks' and Yearwood's matching of funds meant each dollar in that hour was quadrupled leading to a total donation of nearly $50,000. It's the second year Brooks has called into the fundraiser.
"I am so honored to have served in this capacity for 20 years," said Nancy Wilson of the New Country Mornings show on K99.1FM. "This hospital is so close to my heart and seeing the faces of the kids being helped every day makes it a treat."
All the funds go to purchase essential equipment for the hospital. Past purchases with radiothon money included an emergency ambulance transport unit, which contains state of the art technology to transport a sick child from anywhere in in the region.
"When you look at the parking lot in the morning and see the hundreds of cars coming in to get treatment for their kids, you truly see how this hospital takes care of the children of the region," said Frye Guy, co-host of the program. "What would we do without it?"
This year Children's opened a new 8-story tower including a cancer and blood center area, a newborn intensive care unit and an added critical care complex.
Nick Roberts, VP of marketing for Cox Media Group, said: "When you think about it, doing anything for 20 years in a row is a feat. Watching Nancy and Frye work, it's not easy. It's 36 hours of broadcasting over a 3-day period.
"We've raised almost $4 million in donations over that time and I can't be more proud our team. They pour so much emotion into this. When you see the new tower and life-saving equipment we've purchased over the past 20 years, it blows your mind."
Roberts, who also is on the Children's Hospital Foundation board, said Brooks met privately with station employees in 2016.
"He's been very good to our station and to the hospital," Roberts said. "It's kind of mind-blowing to think that one of the biggest entertainers in music history has that kind of connection to Dayton."
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