KGKL 97.5 Wants San Angelo Citizens to Help Fight Cancer

SAN ANGELO,TX- The annual County Cares Radio-thon raises money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. For the past decade, 97.5 KGKL (Townsquare media San Angelo) has held this event and has raised a quarter of a million dollars for the research hospital in Memphis,Tennessee.

St Jude's developed the protocol used at children's hospitals across Texas, according to the KGKL press release. These discoveries affect many children living in the Concho Valley, and that is the reason why KGKL is dedicated to helping this cause.

Boomer Kingston, Operation Manager for KGKL said, "There are kids who are battling cancer right now." He added that KGKL chooses to support St. Jude's because the families who use their services "never pay a nickel." 

The driving motivation for Kingston to support the cause is understanding how devastating the news can be for families who have children with cancer. He believes that St Jude's willingness to provide information on cancer research to anyone who asks is what helps place them as the leading researcher in cancer cases.   

In 2017, The KGKL Cares Radio-thon for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will be broadcast live from Center Court at Sunset Mall this Thursday and Friday March 23 and 24, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on both days.

Activities include live entertainment from Sarah Dunn's Band on Thursday, unique prize drawings for those who make donations and special guests who know firsthand how important the discoveries made at St. Jude's really are.

Kingstong said the fundraising goal is to make one more dollar than last year's mark of $28,000.

For those who want to donate during the Radio-thon, people can call 800-588-1433. Online donations can also be made via credit or debit card at www.stjude.org/radio/kgkl. 

Since St. Jude's opened its doors in 1962, the survival rate of childhood cancer patients has improved from 20 percent to 80 percent.The treatments have helped improve the number of survivors to more than 425,000 for patients nationwide, according to stjude.org.