Two Local Families Prepare for Radiothon

Editor’s note: Due to inaccuracies relayed by a source, the 11th-annual “Care-a-Thon” was incorrectly identified as the 10th-annual event, while quotes supplied to Dallas-Hiram Patch were not credited to the correct person. We have amended the copy below to correct these errors.

An Atlanta radiothon will feature two families from Dallas.

Scott Slade, host of “Atlanta’s Morning News,” along with fellow AM 750 and 95.5 FM News/Talk WSB on-air personalities Neal Boortz and Clark Howard will broadcast the 11th-annual “Care-a-Thon” live from the Aflac Cancer Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Thursday and Friday.

The broadcast will begin at 5 a.m. Thursday and run through 6 p.m. on Friday. Listeners can expect to hear not only voices from some of their favorite WSB personalities, but also stories directly from the families and children who are receiving care and benefited from the programs offered at the Aflac Cancer Center.

According to Brant Rawls, public relations representative with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, there will be two families from Dallas featured in this year’s Care-a-Thon who will be sharing their stories. One of the patients being featured is Sydney Johnekins. She and her mother Alethea will be sharing their story on air and telling listeners of their journey from the time Sydney was diagnosed with a sarcoma tumor in her chest at the age of 6 in 2009. Sydney has been off treatments since September 2010 and they want listeners to know of the support they received, and are still receiving, from the Aflac Cancer Center and the community. 

So, just how do they decide which families will be featured on air?

“Some families volunteer for opportunities like these,” Rawls said. “Otherwise, we work closely with clinicians inside the cancer center to determine which families might be interested.”

All donations received during this fundraising broadcast will benefit research and programs at the Aflac Cancer Center. The center is one of the top-ranked childhood cancer and hematology centers in the United States. The Aflac Cancer Center treats more than 350 new cancer patients each year and follows more than 2,500 patients with sickle cell disease, hemophilia and other blood disorders. 

"Scott Slade from WSB was looking to do something with Children’s and the Aflac Cancer Center," Rawls said. "He went to high school with someone with cancer and that really had an effect on him. So, WSB and Scott approached us and we thought the Care-A-Thon was a great idea."

Special guests scheduled to be a part of the Care-a-Thon include Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson and his wife Kim, and Aflac and Aflac Foundation CEO Dan Amos. During designated bonus hours of the broadcast, several organizations and individuals will match all donations given online and phoned into the Care-a-Thon. Those organizations and individuals include Aflac, Curing Kids Cancer, Al Daniel and Amos.

Listeners also will have the opportunity to bid on a variety of items that include:

• Steve Penley painting
• Lunch with Scott Slade and Atlanta’s Morning News Crew
• Lunch with Clark Howard
• Lunch with Tim Hudson and Chipper Jones
• Tour of new UGA Football Facility
• Walter Reeves and Ilyce Glink “Around the House” package
• Stays at Barnsley Gardens and the Ritz at Lake Oconee

To donate, hear and read patient stories, listeners can tune into AM 750 and 95.5 FM News/Talk WSB, www.wsbradio.com, call 888-750-2772 or visit www.choa.org/careathon. Information and donation opportunities also will be available at www.facebook.com/AflacCancerCenter.