Clovis engineering firm buys out Kids Day corner

Blair, Church & Flynn staff pose for a group photo with Kids Day volunteers outside their office building on Clovis and Fifth avenues after buying out all their newspapers with a $500 donation, March 6, 2018. (Ron Sundquist/Clovis Roundup)

A Clovis engineering firm’s effort to give back to the community was on display Tuesday morning outside of its office building.

Around 8 a.m., Blair, Church & Flynn staff members walked outside their office to surprise a pair of Kids Day volunteers by buying out their corner on Clovis and Fifth avenues with a $500 donation to support Valley Children’s Hospital.

“One of our initiatives moving forward for the year is to start giving back and having good community involvement,” said Tiffany Spencer, the firm’s Human Resources Director who handles all the community giving initiatives. “We’ve been picking organizations that are near and dear to our heart and our objectives, whether its kids within the community or in schools. That’s the direction we decided to go, so we decided to get involved with Kids Day – one of the biggest fundraisers in the Central Valley.”

Throughout the day, more than 8,000 volunteers hit the streets throughout Central California to sell special Kids Day editions of The Fresno Bee. The papers sold for a suggested donation of $1 each in Fresno, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus, Mariposa, Kings and Tulare counties. All funds contribute to this year’s fundraising goal of $650,000.

Since 1987, Kids Day has raised more than $8.6 million for “The Children’s Fund.” Last year, donations helped Valley Children’s again rank as one of the best children’s hospitals in the country; welcome the inaugural class of Valley Children’s Pediatric Residency Program, provide care for more than 241,000 outpatient cases, perform more than 12,000 surgeries and support 120,000 visits to their Emergency Department.

“The support of our volunteers is directly related to the achievement of some amazing milestones,” said Todd Suntrapak, Valley Children’s Healthcare President and CEO. “In the last year, we’ve once again been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best children’s hospitals in the country in even more specialties than before – Pediatric Orthopedics, Pediatric Diabetes & Endocrinology and Pediatric Gastroenterology & Gastrointestinal Surgery. Construction is also underway on several outpatient locations, including Eagle Oaks Specialty Care Center in Bakersfield, Pelandale Specialty Care Center in Modesto and a new center in Clovis. None of this would be possible without the generous acts of time and dedication we receive from the communities up and down the Valley.”

To contribute to Kids Day, text GEORGE to 80077 to make an automatic $10 donation or go online to www.valleychildrens.org/donate.

A native of Woodlake, Daniel Leon is a recent graduate of Fresno State with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. Daniel served as Sports Editor at The Collegian, Fresno State’s student-run newspaper, prior to joining the Roundup. Got a story idea? Email him at editor@clovisroundup.com