Kids Day fundraising final tally surpasses 2022 total, Valley Children’s announces

UPDATE: The final tally for Kids Day 2023 is $365,740, beating last year’s total, Valley Children’s Hospital announced March 13.

ORIGINAL STORY: Kids Day volunteers on Tuesday returned to the streets of Fresno and other central San Joaquin Valley cities for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic forced a three-year hiatus, raising an initial estimate of $131,095 for Valley Children’s Hospital.

Hospital spokeswoman Zara Arboleda said about 2,000 volunteers signed up to hit the streets to sell a special Kids Day postcard at a suggested $1 donation. The postcards feature QR codes that direct the donors to patient stories and other information about the hospital.

Kids Day, which is sponsored by The Bee and ABC30, has raised $10.7 million for the hospital’s Children’s Fund since its inception in 1988. The total amount of money raised this year won’t be known until at least early next week. The 2022 Kids Day fundraiser generate $318,288, said Arboleda.

Proceeds go directly to programs that improve patient care. Donations last year helped the hospital’s precision medicine, pediatric plastic surgery, and neuro-oncology programs.

Besides on-street donations, credit and debit cards can be used to help the hospital by going to valleychildrens.org/kidsday. An automatic $10 donation can also be made by texting “GEORGE” to 20222.

This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 5:01 PM.