STATION NETS $62,000 FOR ST. JUDE'S HOSPITAL

Radio listeners across the region helped raise $62,000 for St. Jude's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., during a 12-hour radio-thon Tuesday.

Listeners to KEZS/K103 participated in the "Country Cares for St. Jude's Kids" fund-raising event for the children's hospital. Callers offered donations ranging from $5 to $500.

Some of the donations were made in memory of children who had received care at the hospital, said Emily Limbaugh, volunteer coordinator.

"A lot of people called telling their stories," she said. A man and his 19-year-old daughter came to the station to talk because she has received treatment at St. Jude's.

"He said you just don't understand unless you've been there," Limbaugh said.

Hearing the personal stories got plenty of response from callers. A second-grade student called in during the last hour to challenge other second-graders to donate money.

St. Jude's Research Hospital is a research center for childhood diseases. The hospital opened in 1962 and has been treating patients ever since, regardless of their ability to pay for treatment.

Nearly 80 percent of the pledges received go directly to the hospital, and those pledges cover more than half of the hospital's daily operating costs.

The Zimmer Radio Group has been broadcasting the St. Jude's radio-thon for 13 years. Last year's radio-thon raised $60,000 for the hospital.