Big Change Roundup Donors Support Exceptional Pediatric Care

Burlington, VT – Each year, 98.9 WOKO fills the airwaves with stories of courage and hope from pediatric patients and families who have received lifesaving and life-changing care at University of Vermont Children’s Hospital.

The stories are part of the hospital’s annual Big Change Roundup for Kids (BCRU) fundraising campaign. Thousands of donors, volunteers, local businesses and community groups contribute and help ensure children and families across Vermont and northern New York have access to the highest quality, child-friendly and family-centered care available.

“Big Change Roundup is a special event and an amazing time of year for everyone at UVM Children’s Hospital,” said Tatiana Rodecker, community fundraising supervisor at UVM Children’s Hospital. “This year we celebrate 20 years of exceptional community support and incredible impacts on pediatric patients and families. We are so grateful for the thousands of people who get involved and their strong support for providing the best possible health care for children across our rural region.”

From local students in Vermont to multi-state businesses whose employees have felt the impact of the care delivered at UVM Children’s Hospital, the outpouring of support and dedication is truly incredible. On Friday, May 2, the hospital will celebrate the conclusion of this year’s campaign with a finale that includes WOKO hosting a live broadcast in the main lobby of University of Vermont Medical Center, including guest appearances by volunteers, donors and Dr. Lewis First, chief of Pediatrics at UVM Children’s Hospital.

Winooski students raise nearly $2,000

Visit Winooski’s JFK Elementary School in April and you might see the googly-eyed faces of Minions peeking around a doorway, Disney’s Seven Dwarfs adorning student lockers or colorful Fruit Loop cutouts on classroom windows. This isn’t redecorating run amuck. This is Big Change Round Up for Kids season, where each year, Winooski students are among the dozens of organizations and individuals from across the region to raise money for UVM Children’s Hospital. 

“It’s heart-warming to see our students get so enthusiastic about giving back,” says Sara Raabe, principal at Winooski JFK Elementary, which has been fundraising for BCRU for more than eight years. “They’re incredibly generous and really get behind our teams.”

This year, the school raised more than $1,700, most of which came from student donations. Across March and April, four fundraising teams comprised of teachers and staff competed for students’ spare change. The teams are organized around lighthearted themes like animated movies – Minions, The Seven Dwarfs, Inside Out – or a childhood food favorite: Fruit Loops. The winning team gets to wear their costumes to school at the end of the competition. This year, the Seven Dwarfs team came out on top, raising nearly $1,000.

For Elizabeth Parris, one of the school’s nurses and self-appointed Happy from the Seven Dwarfs Team, Big Change Round Up is especially close to her heart.

“As the mom of adopted and fostered kids, some with complex medical needs, the Children’s Hospital has been there for me and my family when we need it most,” Parris says, donning her Seven Dwarfs costume outside her office. “It’s so much fun to do this each year and help our students find their passion for giving back. They never let us down!”

Med Associates pays forward life-changing pediatric care

For Valdemar Garibay and the team of 60 to 70 people at Med Associates, it all started in 2018, when team member heard about Big Change Roundup for Kids on the radio.

“I immediately thought it was a great way to encourage our team members to be involved in a cause that helps so many people,” said Garibay, vice president of Community Relations, Finance and Human Resources at Med Associates.

Garibay and his wife, Bridget, were already involved in philanthropic efforts supporting hospitals in Orlando, Florida, and St. Albans, Vermont. They felt called to make an impact because of their experience as parents of children with spina bifida occulta – a condition that occurs when a child’s spine and spinal cord don’t form properly in the womb. Garibay’s children required various pediatric surgeries, and some continue to receive care at the Spina Bifida Clinic at UVM Children’s Hospital.

“UVM Children’s Hospital continues to help my children, and I immediately saw the impact that Big Change Roundup has for so many families and kids,” said Garibay. “This is a great way to give back to a hospital that helped my family and others.”

During the group’s first campaign in 2018, Med Associates raised a modest $217, Garibay remembers. The next year, however, things took off as the team brought Med Associates’ culture of community-focused philanthropy to bear. The company’s planning committee has filled a book with more than 100 internal events held to support Big Change Roundup – from classic fundraisers like a spaghetti dinner held this year, to football pools, corn hole tournaments, free throw and three-pointer contests, and novel activities like an Easter-themed, alcohol-free paint-and-sip that included a visit from the Easter Bunny and kid-friendly activities.

The creativity and passion Garibay and his team bring to their support of BCRU have generated enthusiastic participation from the organization’s community as well. In 2019, the company donated more than $24,000 to Big Change Roundup. A year later, more than $30,000. In 2024, including matching donations from their community, Med Associates donated more than $50,000 to Big Change Roundup.

“As a company, we do a lot of charitable activity,” said Garibay, “from litter cleanups to helping the scientific community. But Big Change Roundup helps so many families and children. That is beautiful. Personally, I’m grateful to be able to help and serve.”

Barbecues and dancing with Maplefields

With music blasting from 98.9 WOKO speakers, burgers on the grill and the sound of coins plunking into the donation jar, the barbecue at Morrisville Maplefields was in full swing on a sunny Monday in late April. Heather Cheney, the manager of this Maplefields convenience store and gas station, has been helping to fundraise for BCRU for more than 12 years.

“It’s such a great cause and it’s great to give back to an organization that helped my own child as an infant,” said Cheney. “It feels good knowing 100 percent of the proceeds go straight to helping to care for kids, especially knowing it’s the only children’s hospital in the state.”

In the last decade, Maplefields has raised more than $1 million for BCRU through local fundraising events like barbecues, town dances and fun runs. This year alone, through store-led fundraising events, Maplefields has helped to raise more than $150,000, with $8,000 coming from events hosted by Cheney’s Morrisville Maplefields.

“I know that many of our employees have had their families cared for by the Children’s Hospital over the years, so it means a lot to us,” says Jack Vallee, with R.L. Vallee Inc./Maplefields, a family-run business based in St. Albans that operates in Vermont, New York and New Hampshire. “This is such a good way to give back to our community, to invest in something concrete that benefits kids and our entire region.”