CMNH Change Crusaders! How pennies add up to hundreds

Sniff sniff sniff... you smell that? I think it is finally spring here in Missouri! Hurray!!

Last week, before this gorgeous warm weather, was the annual CMNH (Children's Miracle Network Hospitals) Change Crusaders radiothon. (Still don't know who CMNH is? Check out my other blog post for more info!) Hundreds of volunteers throughout Kansas City metro stood at street corners to collect change from passing drivers. I had a wonderful time doing this event two years ago when I was Miss Greater Kansas City, and I had just as good of a time this year. Although some members of my originally enlisted 4-person team were sick and had to skip this event, I was blessed to have my mom keep me company and help me shout, "Make a miracle; every penny counts."

And more than ever did I learn that every penny really DOES count. When driving to the radio station after we had collected from our street corner, mom asked me how much she think we raised. "Maybe, $50," I told her. How much could you really raise from a couple bucks here and there and a whole lot of pennies (you know, the ones that are in your cup holder that you never, ever find a use for, but never get moved because what if you need that change some day... those pennies). But on our arrival to the station, we had the pleasure of finding out on air that we raised over $120!! ($122.86 to be exact)

Our massive haul got me thinking, it really is the small donations or small movements toward change that help make a difference. With our money, CMNH was able to buy almost 700 diapers for premature neonates, pay for 2 x-rays, or provide 20 teddy bears or blankets for the kids who have to spend the night in the hospital alone. Later that night, we found out the total raised by the radiothon was $387,000, $900 of that total coming from street corners. Cheesy, maybe; cliche, definitely. But maybe it takes standing on the street corner collecting change from cars for a great charity to help you realize that even those forgotten, cup holder pennies can improve a person's life.
Thank you to Lyn Harris at CMNH-KC for contacting me about the event. And again, thanks, Mom, for taking pics and keeping me company in the 20 degree weather. :-)