THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 TAG: 9605070129
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATHRYN DARLING, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
WHEN Run for the Children, a spring fund-raiser for Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, slowed to a walk, the event raised more money than ever.
Held every May since 1981, the fund-raiser averaged $20,000 each year. Last spring it took on a new identity, becoming Walk for the Children, and raised nearly $30,000.
This year, Pam Combs, chair of Walk for the Children '96, says she hopes the event will raise even more.
The spring fund-raiser is one of the largest for CHKD.
As a run, the fund-raiser appealed primarily to runners, Combs said. As a walk, the event is more inclusive. Teenagers, seniors, families with small children and even people in wheelchairs can participate.
The venue has changed, too. The run used to be held in downtown Norfolk, but Combs said CHKD is a regional hospital and having it on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk gets more of the community involved.
To raise money, participants get friends and neighbors to pledge a donation for the 5-kilometer walk. But the event is more than a fund-raiser; it's a great family night out, Combs said. It will have reasonably priced food, rides for the kids, a game tent, a scavenger hunt, and music by Warren Seaburg and The Blend.
In addition, the Astronomical Society of Tidewater Community College will have telescopes available for stargazing, and ATT will give a laser presentation to celebrate the centennial of the Norfolk City Union of The King's Daughters.
Combs said the spring fund-raiser has been the main focus of her volunteer efforts since she joined the Norfolk City Union of The King's Daughters, CHKD's fund-raising arm, in 1989.
She has worked in preregistration, has been publicity chair, vice chair, co-chair and this year, first chair. She was also a leading member of the team that re-evaluated the Run for the Children and developed and produced the moonlight Walk for the Children.
Combs, who lives in the Lochhaven section of Norfolk with her husband Don, and their two sons, Cole, 7, and Ford, 6, said she decided to become a CHKD volunteer when she had a high-risk pregnancy and learned about the kinds of services the hospital offers.
CHKD is the region's only full-service children's hospital and serves the needs of all children, even those who can't afford to pay. The hospital's services include neonatal and pediatric intensive care, heart transplantation, craniofacial and urological reconstructive surgery, and cancer treatment. The hospital has the region's only pediatric emergency care center.
Before she had children, Combs worked in the health-care field as an educator and had been actively involved with volunteer work, both in the hospital and in the community. When her son Cole was born, she devoted herself to being a mother and a volunteer.
Combs said her volunteer work takes her to the hospital almost every other day. ``I walk through the lobby, and I'm so blessed. I see the families, and I feel good about contributing to the hospital and the community. I'm contributing in the way I know how.''
In addition to her work with CHKD, Combs volunteers for Norfolk Collegiate School, Eastern Virginia Medical School Women, and is den leader of her son's Wolf Pack troop. ILLUSTRATION: AT A GLANCE
What: Walk For the Children, a fund-raiser for CHKD.
When: Friday. Entertainment, food and fun begin at 6 p.m. The
walk begins just as the moon rises, about 7:30 p.m.
Where: Virginia Beach Oceanfront. The 5-kilometer walk starts at
24th Street Oceanfront Park on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk and
stretches south to 3rd street, then heads back to the 24th Street
Park.
Details: Discount parking is available after 5 p.m. at the 25th
Street and Pacific Avenue city lot if you have a pledge form. You
can get pledge forms at any CHKD Thrift Store. For more information,
call 668-7098.
by CNB