Jonesboro, AR (JonesboroRightNow.com) – February 18, 2024 – The 26th annual Have-a-Heart Wish-A-Thon for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Jonesboro, Arkansas raised $467,966 on Friday.
The event is organized by the six radio stations of the Jonesboro Radio Group: KDXY (104.9 The Fox), KEGI (100.5 The Eagle), KJBX (Mix 106.3), KDXY-HD2 (Hot 107.5), KDXY-HD3 (EZ 92.7) and KJBX-HD2 (98.5 The Outlaw) and Gray Television’s Jonesboro station, KAIT.
The Wish-A-Thon is a 13-hour radio and television event, both broadcast and digital. It involves over 250 volunteers manning 19 roadblocks across a seven-county area. Fundraisers involving school children brought over $120,000 to the total as well.
“Christie Matthews, our KDXY program director at the time, brought Make-A-Wish to us 26 years ago,” said Trey Stafford, Saga’s President/General Manager in Jonesboro. “We were all bitten by the Make-A-Wish bug and, luckily, we can’t get over it!”
“KAIT is thrilled to play a role in making this event happen,” said Hatton Week’s, Gray’s Vice President/General Manager at KAIT. “What Make-A-Wish does for kids fighting critical illness is indescribable. You don’t understand it until you actually see it.”
In the 26 years the event has been held, over nine million dollars has been raised to grant wishes to kids with critical illnesses. The event has drawn national attention for the way it captures and involves the entire region. In 2015, CBS’ 60 Minutes did a feature on the Wish-A-Thon. It featured the story of young Kaden Ericcson, who wished for a trip to Australia. Kaden, who was fighting leukemia at the time, unfortunately succumbed to his illness. The segment has been repeated an unprecedented four times. For more information about Make-A-Wish visit www.wish.org.