Kevin Oschefski admits staying up for 29 hours is no easy task.
"It is grueling, no question," he said.
"There is no trick to it."
On Wednesday, the Rotary Club of North Bay launched its annual fundraiser which is led by a radio-a-thon on Country 90.5 FM called "Kev's Kids" which will start at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 30, and end March 31 at 10 a.m. during an event at the YMCA.
It's the 21st year of the fundraising event which is partnered with the Nipissing Association for Disabled Youth (NADY).
Oshefski, who hosts the event and stays up for the entire radio-a-thon, believes community kindness keeps him awake.
"The trick may be the people who donate give you that up that you need to keep going because especially during the evening and late night hours it can get pretty slow and tiring but especially when a kid comes in with his allowance or a workplace comes in that we did not know about and donates, that is what keeps you going and the other thing is when you see the legitimate difference it makes to these kids and their families, whether it be for the purchase of a wheelchair or ramp, or even contact lenses," he said after the press conference held at One Kids Place on Wednesday.
"I have always said if my child was in need I would hope someone in the community would give up a day and a half to help them. That's all I am doing."
Jillian, a 7-year-old from Holy Cross in North Bay, is this year's Rotary4Kids Ambassador. Her mother, Carly Johnson, believes this fundraiser is important.
"It is incredible, just to be part of this to try to give other kids the same chances that we have gotten, the opportunities that we have gotten with Jillian in some small way to help raise money for those kids is just everything we could ask for," she said.
Rotary officials say the radio-a-thon has raised more than $1 million over the first 20 years. Rotary officials say those funds have supported Rotary Children's Committee projects such as the purchase of assistive devices, home renovations, vehicle conversions, enrollment into various programs, just to name a few.
Oshefski says there's a reason why they never announce a target goal.
"Every year we get asked 'what is the goal, what is the goal,' and I have always felt uncomfortable with setting a goal publically because I would hate for us to not reach that number and people are disappointed," he explained.
"As soon as we turn the microphone on and we raise one dollar, it is one dollar we did not have before. It is not about the dollars it is about how many kids can we help. The more money we raise, the more kids we can help. so let's not put a dollar figure on it, let's just try to help a whole bunch of kids."
