Mix 101.5 Children's Hospital Radio-Thon kicks off Tuesday

Durham, N.C. — An annual drive to help Duke Children's Hospital ended Thursday evening when with the presentation of a check for more than $1 million to the hospital.

MIX 101.5 WRAL-FM morning show hosts Bill Jordan and Lynda Loveland went on the air from the hospital's lobby at 6 a.m. Tuesday.  Volunteers, including local college students, staffed a phone bank until 6 p.m. Thursday.

In the end, donors gave $1031,431 to help out the hospital. That brings the radio-thon's 15-year total to $10,749,291.

Donations go to support patients, buy toys for the playroom and purchase educational materials for parents. They also fund research into the causes and possible cures for childhood illnesses.

Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and other local celebrities stopped by to visit with radio show hosts and volunteers working at the hospital during the radio-thon.

Listeners could contribute in a variety of ways – by pledging online or by calling 1-866-684-1015 toll-free or 919-684-1015.

The "Change Bandit" program also let people drop off their spare coins in the lobby of Duke Children's Hospital, 2301 Erwin Road, during the radio-thon.