- A fresh perspective with fresh ideas to encourage support for OSF Health Cares Children's Hospital of Illinois.

I'm Christine Zak-Edmonds stay right here for Consider This.

(upbeat music) Central Illinois are well known for their generosity thank you, and old and new projects are always supported, but how do you freshen up your fundraising ideas?

Emily Carpenter, the Children's Miracle Network Coordinator for the children's hospital isn't reinventing the wheel, which is very well greased.

She's injecting new life and some young ideas, welcome Emily.

- Thank you.

- And you're kind of a Hometowner.

- Yes, I sure I am.

- You screw up.

- I am born and raised here in Central Illinois grew up in Metamora and I attended Bradley University for college.

So this is definitely the place that I call home.

- All right, well you have a job title at OSF children's hospital and it's Children's Miracle Network Coordinator.

Now children's miracle network used to be a telephone, started out as a telephone.

So explain really we don't have the telephone anymore so what exactly is it?

- Yes, so back in 1983, they started as a telephone and their mission was to change kids' health and change the future and raise funds and awareness for children.

So then that sort of expanded into all of these different partners and programs.

It started with one partner here and then another partner and now it's just expanded into over 80 partners.

We have a handful of programs that go on every year, and it's amazing where they've come from.

- Interesting, now these programs are rounding up, that's one of them, right?

What other programs are?

- So a lot of our major partners, we have all of these national partners.

Some of them are retailers that you shop at every day and they participate in campaigns.

Some of them are raising money year round Others have dedicated timelines for those campaigns where they'll have Round Up.

So when you go to the cash register, whether it be with an employee or self checkout, they'll ask you to Round Up to your local children's hospital, or if you'd like to donate a certain amount.

- And that money stays here.

- Yes, exactly so what a lot of people don't realize with Children's Miracle Network is the money stays local.

So any time you Round Up or donate to Children's Miracle Network, that money is coming to OSF Health care's to children's hospital of Illinois.

- What is the coverage area.

It's like basically Interstate 80 down to Springfield area.

- So we cover pretty much all of the Peoria and Bloomington market.

That is our main area and we have a lot of major retailers and businesses throughout there that partner with Children's Miracle Network.

And when they host their campaigns, that money comes directly to us.

- All right, well, we were talking, you have all these partners and you put a lot of mileage on your self and your car every week, but it depends.

And so what kind of fundraisers do they do other than Round Up?

And do they, sometime employees do special things too?

- Yes, so we have all sorts of partners and some of them are raising money year round.

We have REMAX, so our REMAX Traders Unlimited here and Peoria their team every time a house is sold, part of the money that agent receives goes to Children's Miracle Network, and they're donating that on their own, but they also do other fundraisers as well throughout the year, we just had an event it was a Taco.

- Taco Tuesday or.

- It was the Taco Tuesday and they also raised money for Almost Home Kids they had a baby shower.

So that was a very fun event and I mean, they do all sorts of things.

So even when our retailers are asking customers to Round Up, they are also holding other events on the sides to raise money as well.

Whether it's having food trucks out there or having a family fun day where they're having customers come in and participate in different activities and donate while they're out there, they all add up.

- I know that Nena Ace Hardware does Round Up and they do some other things too.

- Yes, so in August they actually hold bucket days.

So you can go and purchase a bucket and they're $5 each and then everything you put in the bucket, you get 20% off.

So that is a huge fundraiser for them and they also put on these amazing displays with the buckets.

They're asked to get creative and sort of make these elaborate displays.

I know our location in Germantown they created a hot air balloon out of their buckets and then our location here in Peoria created a train.

So they're very fun to see, and they really get involved with that.

- Well, and that's the best thing.

So really the importance of Children's Miracle Network is awareness and educating people that we keep that money here and give it to the kids for programs that are needed or different things in the hospitals they're needed.

For example, give us an example of what the money goes for.

- Absolutely, so that money, when it goes through Children's Miracle Network, it comes directly to our hospital.

So then we decide, what is our area of greatest need?

Where is that money need to go to?

And we have so many different initiatives that it can go to.

One of those is Almost Home Kids.

So that's located here in Peoria, Illinois, and it is a transitional care facility for children with medical complexities.

So it's really a bridge from the hospital to home and it helps those learn how to take care of their child.

And it's probably one of the first times that that child is out of a hospital, like setting and in more of a home.

And so I mean, it's amazing to see how those children grow and prosper, and then the care that the families receive and support so that they can take their child home and properly care for them.

- Correct.

- We also have the Heller Center for Kids with Cancer, and that is a program that is amazing.

It helps our pediatric cancer patients.

So a lot of times we hear about, the treatments, the surgeries, the chemo and that is all very traumatic for a child, but there's also the emotional needs of the family and the children and the physical therapy and counseling.

And we have patient navigators that they can help them through that process.

And the Heller Center for Kids with Cancer, it helps provide the resources and the funds to give those to the families.

So not only do the children survive, but then they're able to thrive.

- Okay, and sometimes as you said, areas of need, sometimes there are certain pieces of equipment that are pretty pricey and then money can also go for that if that's what you think.

- Yes, so we have a neonatal intensive care unit.

So that takes care of our smallest babies, premature babies, and all of that equipment it costs a lot of money just from the tiny weepy diapers that they have-- - Blood pressure, blood pressure.

- They are so small so many different items, all of that equipment costs money and the funds that we raise helps go towards them.

- Right, and it seems like the smaller that equipment, the more expensive it is.

- Yeah exactly.

- Because it's so intricate.

- Yes.

- Well, you're pretty young you graduated from Metamora High School, you said in 2010, and then you went to Bradley.

What did you major in at Bradley that kinda brought you to Children's Miracle Network?

- Yes, so while I was at Bradley University, they started their hospitality leadership program and I've always loved being involved in helping the community and I've loved events.

And so I really started with my passion and events there at Bradley, and I decided, how can I take this experience and education and help the community?

So from there I went on to get more experience in events and then I always knew that I wanted to come back home and OSF it's always felt like home to me so it was a great fit.

- And you did work at OSF while you were in high school or during college or what?

- So during college I worked as a room service ambassador, so I helped with the meal tray service.

And that's where I really got to experience what it's like being in a hospital setting and seeing what the patients are going through.

I actually started as a room service ambassador, pretty close to when the milestone building was first open.

So that is a new area for the children's hospital.

So I got to see that firsthand and it really inspired me and I sort of always knew that I wanted to come back.

- All right, well what do you look forward to most on any given day?

- On any given day what I look forward to most is just getting to meet the community and hear people's stories.

When I go out to these locations to help out and encourage and thank these businesses that are raising funds for us at the same time, I get the chance to meet it could be employees, it could be customers that are coming in, and they share their stories and they tell us about how their children have come two children's hospital of Illinois and were cared for.

And that's really what makes the difference every day is different and every time I go out, I hear another story.

- Getting back to things that you've done before you came here, you were with Disney World.

- Yes, so after I graduated from Bradley, I decided to go out and get some more experience.

And I moved to Orlando, Florida, and I did an internship with Walt Disney World.

So I did their hospitality program there and I had the chance to work in numerous resorts on their property and get a lot of great customer service experience there.

And then I went on to work for Marriott so I worked at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, and I was there for a little over three years.

And then most recently I was out in Denver and I was on the opening team of the Gaylord Rockies.

- Okay, and what was that?

- So the Gaylord Rockies is a very large resort and convention center.

We had 500,000 square feet of event space, so very large event planning team.

And that's really where I got a lot of my experience with planning events and just really helping out clients and taking their vision and making it come to life.

- Well you have certainly been busy, what other kinds of events do you have planned for the future?

I know that you have, what is it, $10 Tuesdays?

- Yes, so we do have some partners that fundraise year round.

One of them is our newest partner Club Carwash.

So they have $10 Tuesdays and if you get their MVP Car Wash, it's discounted to $10 and $1 of that carwash goes to Children's Hospital of Illinois and that's year round.

They just started this campaign earlier in the year and it will go through December.

- And it's fun.

- Yeah, it's a lot of fun and we have new locations opening too.

So I think by the end of this year, there'll be five locations between Peoria and Bloomington.

So we're very excited for that partnership.

We also have places like Panda Express, they Round Up year round.

So anytime that you're going through to grab lunch or a quick dinner, make sure to Round Up and say thank you to those employees because they are supporting the local children's hospital.

- So none of this is surprising you though, because you grew up in Central Illinois, you know how generous Central Illinois is.

- Yes, absolutely I mean the community here is amazing and there are so many people that want to help and get involved and, it's great to see how eager people are to help, especially when we ask for help as well.

- What other new ideas do you have like that are generating kind of percolating?

- So the biggest thing that I aim to do is really make the connection between Children's Miracle Network and Children's Hospital of Illinois.

So I really just want to educate our community and let them know that when you're donating to this organization, it's coming here to OSF to your hospital.

And we do have a lot of other great partnerships as well.

One of the big programs that starting is, well, it started back in 2008, but it's really growing and growing year after year and it's Extra Life.

So there's a website Extra Life that just anyone can sign up.

- I (mumbles) today so explain what it is.

- Yes, so basically it is an online gaming organization and it doesn't even have to be online gaming it can be in person as well.

You sign up, you make a team and then your team can raise money for Children's Miracle Network.

- So what kind of games?

- So they can be online games.

So they can be just virtual video games that people are playing, or they can be tabletop games in November we actually have on November 6th, it's called Extra Life game day.

So that is where they encourage players participants on the website to spend 24 hours playing games and raise money.

And that campaign brings in a ton of money for Children's Miracle Network all across the US so we're hoping to get more gamers involved.

And if people aren't into gaming online and streaming their content, they can also play in person.

They can host a trivia night, they can just get their friends together and raise money that way as well.

- So you're talking video games.

- Yes.

- And they're competing against somebody else, or just they're getting pledges or-- - Yes, so they can be competing against other people, or they can just be playing the game on their own and streaming their content.

There's a lot of different websites that they can use to stream that and then they also have the link where people can donate.

So a lot of times they'll create competitions between each other.

If I stay up and stream for this long, my goal is to raise this amount of money and they'll get their friends and family involved they can post it on social media and they raise a lot of money that way.

- Where did they find out information about that.

- Extra Life, the website is the perfect place to find all of the information and of course we're a resource as well and always have.

- So there's a link on the Children's Hospital, Children's Miracle Network, Extra Life.

- Yes Extra Life.

- Okay, I'm so good at technology I just figured that out.

So previous relationships with Children's Hospital, just kinda working in the hospital and you were in the children's hospital section as well.

- Yes, so as a room service ambassador, I kinda got to experience all of the different floors.

So one of those was being with the pediatric patients, and I even had the opportunity I worked there around the holidays as well.

So it's very heartwarming, to see these families that are going through so much, but they're so thankful.

And they are so thankful to be there at OSF and so appreciative all of the service, even though they're going through so much.

So that was, a lot of what inspired me to be where I am today.

- Does it surprise you?

- It doesn't, our community is so close and everyone here is so willing to help that it just makes sense.

- So what other kinda things do you think you want to do is what, working with Disney, working with Marriott, these big organizations, you have some ideas and you have some ideas of what might work here too.

What do you think you wanna try?

- Yeah, I think overall, I just want to expand the program.

We have a lot of national partners, but I'd love to get more people involved on a local level, make that connection, help people understand that Children's Miracle Network is raising funds for our local children's hospitals.

So just any way that I can get the community involved and have more events, we have a group that hosts a Trivia Night every September.

We'd love to see organizations and companies host things like that, that we can be involved with.

I'm happy to go out to those and help and provide education and resources.

And we have a lot of kids too that wanna come out to these events and they wanna thank the people that are raising money for them.

- And do you work with the little kids like lemonade stands and that kinda thing too, because they're raising money for their friends who might be hospitalized or whatever.

- Exactly, there are so many ways that people can raise money and if someone has an idea, they can bring it to us.

If they have an idea for how they would like to raise money for Children's Miracle Network, I'm all yours and I'm happy to help and, be a part of their team as well.

- Are your parents just as proud as can be of you because you're doing this and doing good for the community and you came back home.

- Yes absolutely, they love having me back home and they're very proud to see everything that I'm doing.

They grew up here as well so they love to see me giving back to the community and seeing me out and about and helping all our partners and they're definitely one of my biggest cheerleaders.

- That's nice you are young, like I said, very, very young compared to me and you have these fresh ideas.

Do you feel like you're hitting any roadblocks with your ideas they're still, kinda be in there or is it pretty easy to get some of your ideas like to get some legs?

- Honestly, I think the opportunities and the ideas are endless.

There are so many and even if I don't have an idea, I meet with people in the community and they have ideas.

So there's always new ideas coming it's just a matter of trying to make it all happen, time.

- It's you and everybody else.

- Yes, because we have a timeline when different campaigns go on.

So I'm helping kickoff those and encourage those businesses but then there are all these other ideas out there that we can make happen as well.

- And what are some of those campaigns?

Did you tell me specifically or, well, a couple of them you did, but what are some of the other campaigns?

- So some of our largest national partners are actually Walmart and Sam's Club, Costco, ACE Hardware Circle K, Panda Express, Club Carwash, REMAX, Great Clips.

They host a very big campaign in October for us Dairy Queen.

I know that everybody always knows about Dairy Queen Miracle Tree Day, but there are so many partners, just tons of them.

- Right and the thing that people need to look for to know when they're contributing a lot, do you wanna buy a balloon?

And it's the orange and yellow balloon that they will post there at a Costco or Sam's or Walmart, wherever.

So that you know that you have contributed to that.

And really, I don't know all the way close to IAT and really from Iowa to Indiana, correct that's the coverage area?

- Yes there is a large coverage and it's different with every partner that we have, where they are located for the most part, everyone in Peoria and Bloomington the money goes local to children's hospital of Illinois, but we educate our partners too, so that when they are asking, if you'd like to Round Up and donate, they will mention to Children's Hospital of Illinois so that you know that your money is coming towards here.

- Okay because that's pretty significant there are other member children's hospitals in the state of Illinois.

- There are and I mean, we love to see support for all of the hospitals but especially in our area, we want to support the hospital that our children, our families are going to.

So it's so important and our partners, they know this and that's why a lot of times you'll see them with signs and buttons saying that they're raising money for us.

- Well I know there's a small wonders walk also that raises money for kids who were in the NICU.

- Yes.

- And again that's organized third-party, it's the parents of kids who have been there, who put that together, and that's more fun for you.

So then you can work on these other things to build them, correct?

- Yes correct.

- Okay, well what is the most heartwarming story?

If you can recall of somebody that you've met, who has a child, or had a child in the hospital, can you remember any off the top of your head?

- Yes, so we have Jillian and she is actually our miracle kid of the year, each year, Children's Miracle Network.

We designate one child to sort of be our champion and to sort of be the face of our hospital.

And I've had the opportunity to work with Gillian since I started and she loves going to the stores.

When you go into our local stores, the pictures that you see that is of her, and she is here local in Peoria and she loves giving back.

She will actually go up to you and say that she works for the hospital.

- How old is she?

- She is eight years old.

- Okay.

- Yes and she loves what she does.

She'll make little gifts for the employees to give to them, just to say thank you.

- Why was she hospitalized, do you remember?

- Yes so she was actually, born premature.

So she stayed in the NICU and she has had many other different medical complexities throughout her life and continues to receive care and well.

So there are a whole host of things that she's gone through many different surgeries, but her family is still so thankful and they want to be a part and they wanna say thank you to all of the businesses that help.

- And that's the incredible thing is that the parent's life is going on sort of normal, whatever, but they do wanna give back because they know that they were were really helped.

- They do and a lot of them, when they're receiving care, it can be hard to wanna speak about it.

But afterwards when they have gone through all of this, they realize, hey, we couldn't have done it without them.

And we can't do what we do without sharing their stories and telling people about the successes that we've had.

- And you're just really excited about this job.

- [Emily] Yes.

- What do you most look forward to every day, something new?

- Yes so I just I love going out into the community and meeting with our partners.

Every store that I go to is so passionate about raising money.

You go into these local stores and you see the Round Up on the self-checkout, but you don't realize that the employees in there, they have their own stories.

Everyone has been touched by our hospital.

They know someone who has been to children's hospital, whether it's their own children or family or friends, everyone has their own story.

And they're all just so passionate about giving back and I love hearing those stories.

- Well that's exciting, not only the business owners to be excited, but to have the employees jump on board and get really excited.

You always want volunteers, you always need volunteers.

What kind of things do you need them for?

And then where can they find you?

How do they get in touch with you?

- Absolutely, so in regards to getting in touch with me, my contact information is on the website.

If you look up Children's Hospital of Illinois and Children's Miracle Network, my contact information is there so I'm always open to ideas if anyone has one or has an idea for a fundraiser they would like to host, I would be happy to sit down and talk to them and see how we can help and be a part of their team.

- Every penny adds up.

- It does yes, every penny and people rounding up has raised so much money even over the past year when we had a coin shortage, Round Up was amazing because now people who were originally upset cause they can't get their change back they know that their changes going somewhere to help.

- Right, well, that's one blessing out of this whole pandemic is that the money is helping the kids at the children's hospital, but that's pretty crazy.

- I think the pandemic actually helped pave the way for Round Up, they had started this and then when the coin shortage hit, everybody was more willing to Round Up because they know that they can't get the points back.

So here they can put it to a local organization that's going to help out.

- What are some of the amounts in the Round Up do you know offhand what some of them were?

- Well this past year between we have 10 locations between Walmart and Sam's Club and Peoria and Bloomington, and they actually raised $103,000 just by just rounding up.

And that was just for a month of Round Up, it broke records.

They crossed that $100,000 goal and we are so excited for them they had their best year yet this year.

- Wow well, we have all these programs going on you're reaching out to people to make sure that they can Round Up and make sure that you get in touch with her to let you know of what ideas or what other businesses might be interested.

- Absolutely.

- Yeah okay, well you keep up the good work.

You keep finding new partners and making our kiddos helping to make our kiddos healthy.

And children's hospital really is just a gem in our community people don't really realize it.

- It truly is and I mean, if the walls could talk, they would tell so many stories between the patients and the caregivers and everyone there, there are so many stories to share.

- Well, thank you very much Emily Carpenter for sharing some of the stories and ways to help.

And thank you all for joining us, enjoy stay safe and healthy.

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