THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 31, 1996 TAG: 9605310065
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: 69 lines
EVER WONDER WHY TV and movie stars and famous athletes get involved in raising money for charities? Why they give so much of their time and energy to this cause or that one?
Take John Schneider, for instance. Bo Duke.
Ever wonder why the tall, good-looking guy who played Bo on ``The Dukes of Hazzard,'' and was seen recently in ``Night of the Twisters'' on The Family Channel, knocks himself out to raise money for children's hospitals? His kids are fine.
Schneider, Marie Osmond and several others who used to work with the March of Dimes telethon started the Children's Miracle Network 13 years ago. This year's CMN telethon to benefit 161 hospitals - including Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk - starts Saturday night at 11 on WVEC.
Schneider will be with the telethon from start to finish at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla. Like always. Why does he do it?
He's a good guy. That's one reason. The other reason springs from his childhood in upstate New York. Schneider had severe asthma at the age of 8 or 9, and remembers being treated in places where adults with tuberculosis, emphysema and other severe respiratory problems were also patients.
He was in with a bunch of sick, old people.
It was pretty scary to be there, coughing, struggling to breathe. Schneider never forgot the experience.
``We decided some time ago that children need places of their own to get well, and have a good time doing it,'' Schneider said not long ago when I interviewed him in Los Angeles.
In 13 years, Schneider and friends have raised $917 million for the 161 children's hospitals. He expects the figure to exceed $1 billion by the time the 1996 telethon signs off at 8 p.m. on Sunday.
A billion is a lot. But not enough, said Schneider, who doesn't look too much different from the young dude who rode a Dodge Charger named the General Lee to fame and glory in ``The Dukes of Hazzard.''
``There is no way you can say you ever have enough money when you think of what it takes in equipment and expertise to operate on a baby who was born prematurely weighing a pound and a half,'' said Schneider.
While Schneider, Osmond, Jerry Lewis, Lou Rawls and other entertainers give freely of themselves to raise money for charities and scholarship funds, not everyone who is rich and famous wants to participate. That's where motivation comes in, said Schneider.
Ever wonder how and why the Children's Miracle Network began? So people would stop making excuses for not giving their time and money to a worthy cause, said Schneider.
``We discovered 13 years ago that many people were not motivated to give to help young people suffering with leukemia or spina bifida because they didn't know anyone with those problems. We realized we had to come up with an idea to eliminate that excuse.
``We had to find a way to approach people with a message that would get them all involved. The message we decided on was that if you help a children's hospital, you help anyone who needs the services of a hospital, from kids sick with cancer to kids who have been in terrible accidents,'' said Schneider.
On the WVEC telecast, you'll see a child who came back from being nearly drowned, and a child who survived a stroke when he was only 4.
Responding to stories such as that, local viewers gave more than $1 million last year, in excess of $8 million since the telethon began.
All money raised goes to the hospitals, and the money raised with WVEC's help stays in Norfolk, says Carol Powell of King's Daughters.
The theme of the 1996 telethon is the championship season - children who won victories against illness and injuries. Champs. Some are like the young John Schneider growing up with a scary disease. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Schneider by CNB