Burlington, Vt. – As 98.9 WOKO and Golisano Children’s Hospital at UVM Health prepare to celebrate more than two decades of impact through Big Change Roundup for Kids (BCRU), donors who rally around the annual campaign and programs supported by funding through community donations are in the spotlight.

Each year, 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 high quality, child-friendly and family-centered care.

“The thousands of people who get involved each year make Big Change Roundup a special and powerful time of year,” said Tatiana Rodecker, community fundraising supervisor at Golisano Children’s Hospital. “We are so grateful for their strong support of family-centered pediatric care across our region.”

During the finale on Friday, May 1, which brings together everyone from local students to multi state businesses, the hospital will celebrate the conclusion of this year’s campaign. In a decades-old tradition, WOKO will host a live broadcast in the main lobby of University of Vermont Medical Center.

The broadcast, which begins at 9am, includes guest appearances by volunteers, donors and Lewis First, MD, MS, chief of Pediatrics at Golisano Children’s Hospital. Dr. First, the longest-serving pediatric department chair in the nation, will retire at the end of June after leading the children’s hospital for more than 30 years.

‘The Boot Stompin’ Roundup for Kids’

For Krystal LaRose, founder of Better in Boots Line Dancing, giving back through BCRU began as both a personal calling and a way to bring people together.

LaRose first organized a fundraiser in support of BCRU in 2016, years after the birth of her son, Landan. Born six weeks early, Landan spent his first days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Golisano Children’s Hospital before he grew strong enough to transition to the hospital’s pediatric inpatient unit. While Landan’s complex medical journey ultimately had a happy ending – he is now 19 and pursuing a career as an electrician – LaRose said not being able to hold her newborn son until days later made an indelible impact on her.

“There’s no way to prepare yourself for seeing your child in the NICU,” she said. “I couldn’t hold him; the only thing I could do at that point was reach my arms into the (incubator) and touch him. I still remember the pain of being in that uncontrollable situation.”

A lifelong line dancer who founded Better in Boots and began teaching classes in 2015, LaRose saw an opportunity to combine her passion for dancing with a desire to give back and stay connected to the children’s hospital. One year later, she hosted the first Better in Boots event, called ‘The Boot Stompin’ Roundup for Kids’, in support of BCRU. At that time, the campaign’s excitement was generated by change collected from donors and machine-counted live.

“The excitement of that is kind of what got me into it, and then it turned into something bigger.” LaRose said. “You hear other families’ stories and realize how many people are facing situations far harder than your own. It made me realize the little things I could do to give back and help other families that are in a very unexpected, unpredictable time.”

A decade after her first ‘Boot Stompin’ Roundup for Kids’, LaRose in April hosted Better in Boots’ largest event ever at the Old Lantern Event Barn in Charlotte. It drew 130 people and raised about $3,300 to support the hospital’s annual campaign. She continues to organize multiple events each year, not just to raise donations but to foster connection and shared purpose in communities served by the children’s hospital.

“I know what the hospital means to families and what it means to mine.” she said. “I know that it takes a village and I love to be part of that village, give back and help other families.”

Music Therapy Supports Kids, Families

For Maggie Connors, MT-BC, a board-certified music therapist at Golisano Children’s Hospital, music therapy is about much more than songs and instruments. It’s about supporting children and families on some of their hardest days.

The hospital’s pediatric music therapy program launched in 2015 as a small, grant-funded effort that has been sustained over the past decade through philanthropic support. Including grant funding from BCRU, Children’s Miracle Network and private donors. That support has allowed the program to expand to providing 10 hours per week of inpatient pediatric music therapy services through two therapists: Connors and her colleague, Danica Cunningham, MT-BC.

“Donor support allows us to provide truly individualized, child-centered care,” said Connors. “It gives us the freedom to spend time where it matters most and to support kids and families in ways that make their hospital experience just a little easier.”

Music therapy supports children and families across the children’s hospital, from newborns to older children and teens with long-term, complex and life-limiting medical conditions. Connors and Cunningham use strategies that range from using live music during medical procedures, songwriting sessions to help children process their experiences, or therapeutic play that can help pediatric patients reclaim a sense of normalcy and control in a clinical environment. Connors and Cunningham have hosted nearly 1,000 music therapy sessions since early 2024.

Connors said the program not only helps pediatric patients process often-difficult medical experiences and interactions, it also often gives parents permission to briefly step away while knowing their child is supported.

“Being sick in the hospital is very different from being sick at home,” said Connors. “The connection we’re able to have with patients and families can make a huge difference. Music therapy can be a reset and a breath of fresh air at a time when kids don’t have a lot of control or autonomy.”

To learn more about Big Change Roundup for Kids, visit: www.BigChangeRoundup.org

Golisano Children’s Hospital
111 Colchester Ave.
Burlington, VT 05405

University of Vermont Health
40 IDX Drive
South Burlington, VT 05403

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About Golisano Children’s Hospital at University of Vermont Health

From the maternity unit to the emergency department and from our Children’s Specialty Center to our pediatric primary care clinics, Golisano Children’s Hospital at University of Vermont Health offers a welcoming child and family-friendly atmosphere with high-quality pediatric care. In partnership with University of Vermont Medical Center, Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Golisano Children’s Hospital at UVM Health delivers expert care grounded in the latest research to residents throughout Vermont and northern New York. It is fully accredited by the Children’s Hospital Association. For more information, please visit www.uvmhealth.org/childrens or contact us at 802-847-0000.

About University of Vermont Health

University of Vermont Health is a rural academic health system with more than 100 years of service to small towns and cities across Vermont and northern New York. We are deeply committed to reimagining rural health in ways that will benefit our communities for generations to come and keep exceptional care close to home. Our system includes an academic medical center, two community hospitals, three critical access hospitals, a children’s hospital, a cancer center, a multispecialty medical group, 154 outpatient sites and care beyond the hospital through home health, hospice care, four skilled nursing facilities and other support services. Our care is informed by an essential partnership with University of Vermont’s The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine and College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Together, as a health system serving a rural area, we are tackling health care’s biggest challenges — supporting the communities we serve and investing in our employees by addressing housing affordability, quality childcare and professional development needs. To learn more, visit us at www.uvmhealth.org.