Kenny Rogers Children's Center marks 50 years ahead of 42nd telethon

SIKESTON, Mo. -- This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Kenny Rogers Children's Center, which has provided occupational, physical and speech therapy to children throughout the area at no cost to the families served.

The Kenny Rogers Children's Center Telethon will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at Miner Convention Center, and there will be many activities to partake in throughout the day.

Given that the center is celebrating its 50th anniversary, executive director Michelle Fayette said it only seems fitting to share some of its history.

According to Fayette, Helen Shelton and Tom Richey worked hard to get the building ready for use in 1973.

Shelton was the mother of a child with cerebral palsy who needed physical therapy, and there wasn't a facility nearby that provided pediatric therapy, so she took all of this on herself to attend seminars, read important information, and talk with others to learn the fundamentals required to provide these services.

Richey was working at Missouri Delta Medical Center's Regional Center when he saw a file cabinet with a few files of children with severe disabilities. He started doing evaluations on those children one Saturday morning every month. Soon, he was doing evaluations every Saturday.

The Scott-Mississippi-New Madrid Counties United Cerebral Palsy Center opened in September 1974 at the Sikeston Regional Center for the Developmentally Disabled. At the time, there were five clients, one paid employee, two foster grandparents and many other volunteers.

Fayette, who has been with the Center since December 2002, said that in 1977, Kenny Rogers was a featured performer at the 25th annual Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo.

Fayette said Rogers developed quite a relationship with the Jaycees and was impressed with what all they were doing for the community.

"He really built quite a relationship with the Jaycees," Fayette said. "The first thing he did was donate an Arabian stallion to the Jaycees, and told the Jaycees to use the proceeds from the sale of that horse for a worthwhile cause in our community. And that's when the Jaycees partnered with us."

The Jaycees chose to allocate the proceeds to the construction of a new center, and the stallion was then auctioned off for $75,000, offering seed money for future projects.

Throughout the years, Rogers continued to return to Sikeston, for his benefit concert events, raising thousands of dollars.

The center's name was formally changed to the Kenny Rogers Children's Center in 2000 to reflect the fact it served children with a wide range of disorders, not only cerebral palsy.

Fayette said even though this is the center's 50th anniversary of providing services, it's the 42nd telethon event.

"It's the 50th year of us providing services to children," she said. "What the telethon does is enable us to get through the summer to pay our bills and meet payroll through the summer when schools are not in session. Our revenue goes down to almost nothing, and we still give people that need to be paid."

According to Fayette, last year was the first year since COVID-19 that they were able to have a live telethon, so there won't be much of a change from 2022, but it was a new model from years past.

"We used to be down at the Field House, and it was a two-day event; we've gone now to the Miner Convention Center, and it's a one-day event," she said.

Fayette discussed some of the events that would take place during the telethon, noting one of the most important things they do is have an auction.

"Our auction is always a really big thing," Fayette said. "You can start viewing auction items the following Monday on the 20th."

She continued: "And then on the 25th, when we go down to the convention center, we will actually have all the auction items there, and people will be able to see them in person, and bidding will close at 4 o'clock."

Fayette said black light bingo at Sikeston VFW Hall will be a part of the telethon again this year.

"Last year was the first year we had it Saturday night of telethon, and it worked really, really well," Fayette said. "We wrap up at the Miner Convention Center at 5 o'clock, and we all head over to Smith Street. It's just a fun night, and there are prizes; it's just a lot of fun."

She also discussed the significance of the center.

"To me, it's pretty amazing in the health care environment that we are currently in that we are able to continue to provide our services at no charge to the families served," Fayette said. "Not all the kids we treat are severely and profoundly disabled, and a lot of times, they just need a little help getting started."

Fayette continued by discussing how the youngsters are the future adults in the community and how it is important they be served.

"You know, these kids will continue to grow up and be a part of our community; they'll be a part of our workforce; they're going to be 16 behind the wheel of a car," Fayette said. "So it's very important that we make a difference in their lives at an early age so that, as they grow up and become members of our society, they are able to control behaviors and different things like that."

She also highlighted the importance of donating and how it sets an excellent example.

"If you have small children, it's good to set an example to support groups and organizations that need support," Fayette said. "I think the service that we do provide in Southeast Missouri is a very worthwhile service. Nationwide, there probably aren't very many places like ours that provide their services completely at no charge."

Fayette said VIP panels this year will be done on their own time.

"Times have changed, and people would just as soon text their friends," Fayette said. "So we do a modern version of VIP panels."

For more information, visit www.kennyrogerscenter.org/telethon; or to donate to a specific child, contact the center.