A wing of the North Carolina Children’s Hospital was renamed The Krispy Kreme Challenge Children’s Specialty Clinic after directors of the race presented a $2 million check to the hospital last week. The check represents the nearly $1 million previously raised by the charity race and the pledge to raise $1 million more by 2020.
Profits from the Krispy Kreme Challenge go directly to the NC Children’s Promise Grants within the North Carolina Children’s hospital as unrestricted funds, allowing the hospital to use the money where it’s most needed.
“What they don’t get a lot of money for is to buy things to treat kids as kids,” said Chris Cooper, a Krispy Kreme Challenge race director and junior studying chemical engineering and economics.
A gaming center, indoor play center, simulation equipment and teddy bears have been added to the waiting room thanks to the donations from the Krispy Kreme Challenge.
Part of the money also goes toward funding the school that’s run by the hospital for children who have longer hospital stays. The school is staffed with teachers and a principal. Classes are offered to patients from preschool through 12th grade, allowing them to stay on track with their education while fighting a serious illness.
“A lot of our runners don’t always know they’re supporting a great cause,” Cooper said. “We get a lot of hype and excitement about the race being a crazy and wacky NC State tradition, but having a relationship with the children’s hospital makes the event much more meaningful.”
More than 8,000 people are expected to participate in the race next February, the maximum amount allowed by the city of Raleigh due to safety precautions. Race directors expect more than $200,000 to be raised at the 2016 race, an amount that would exceed the $195,000 donated to the hospital in February 2015, according to Rebekah Millsaps, the marketing director for the race and a junior studying business administration and accounting.
Fundraising for the children’s hospital comes from registration fees, personal donations, sponsorships and an expo held before race day. The only portion of the registration fee that doesn’t go toward the children’s hospital is the cost of the T-shirt and the dozen doughnuts included with every sign-up.
The Krispy Kreme Challenge Children’s Specialty Clinic is a 15-room clinic located on Raleigh’s Rex Hospital campus, allowing NC State students to have more of a local impact. The main children’s hospital is in Chapel Hill. Members of the Krispy Kreme Challenge Committee will be volunteering to read stories to children in the waiting room and helping out where a hand is needed.
The partnership between the North Carolina Children’s Hospital, part of UNC Health Care, and the race organized by NC State students allows for a unique collaboration between the two schools.
“I think it’s so cool how we can be rivals and then be mature and come together when something as important as children’s lives are at stake,” Millsaps said. “We can work together and make something awesome happen.”
