ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Bidding is now open for the 2023 Chuck Long Charity Auction benefiting the Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities. The online fundraiser raises a significant chunk of the center's yearly budget.
Ever since the pandemic began, the center has seen a drastic increase in families seeking care. Now, administrators say the charity auction is more important than ever to help the center assist even more children.
"In our 74 years of helping kids by providing physical, occupational, speech and feeding therapy, we have never turned a child away due to the family's inability to pay," said Angie Peterson, the center's president and CEO.
It's one of the few centers that accept all children, regardless of health insurance or geographical location.
Consequently, 75% of the therapy conducted at the center is not reimbursed.
"So fundraising is really important. This is our largest fundraising event," Peterson said.
And the need for the center's services is growing larger.
Every month the center schedules between 600-750 appointments. Pre-pandemic, it wasn't uncommon to have 50-75 kids on the waitlist at any given time. Nowadays, the waitlist has ballooned to an average of 200-225 children.
"The only thing that keeps us from helping more and more kids is funding," Peterson said. "We're fundraising three-quarters of our annual budget."
To date, the auction has raised just under $2 million for the center.
"That's a lot of therapy. And that's a lot of kids that might not be able to receive the help they need at other places," Peterson said.
The auction is open from May 11 through May 20. You can view auction items here and register to bid here.
More than 400 items are up for auction this year. From signed helmets and collectible sports memorabilia (including football, hockey, basketball, baseball and more) to dinners at local restaurants and designer handbags, there's a little something for everyone.
There's even a game-worn jersey from Chuck Long's appearance in the Japan Bowl back in 1986. Long told the therapy center he put the jersey in his mother's basement upon returning, but managed to dig it up in time for the fundraiser.
You can also bid for a night with our very own News 8 Sports Director Matt Randazzo! This is not a joke: you can win an evening with Dazzo as he zips around to different local football games, then come back to our WQAD studios to be a guest griller on a Friday night airing of The Score.
Meet Jobari
Over 74 years of serving this community, thousands of kids have passed through the Children's Therapy Center. One of them is 9-year-old Jobari.
Back in 2013, Jobari's mother Gina started hemorrhaging at 28 weeks pregnant. She drove herself to the emergency room where Jobari was born soon after, 12 weeks early and weighing just 2 pounds and 13 ounces. The infant was suffering from a bilateral brain bleed, and was airlifted to the NICU in Peoria.
After four weeks, he was transferred back to UnityPoint Trinity to be closer to family in Rock Island. However an infection meant he had to be airlifted back to OSF Children's Hospital. Eight weeks would pass before he could finally go home for good.
Jobari was diagnosed with cerebral palsy with spasticity. His first introduction to the center was as an infant. Now, nearly a decade later, he's grown up with the center, building bonds with physical therapists like Mr. James.
"He's funny and goofy," Jobari told us. We asked what his favorite things to do with Mr. James are, and he said he loves laughing at his therapists dancing.
"Yeah, I am stronger than him," Jobari proudly said. "He's very weak."
Jobari stops by the center every Wednesday. He works on leg and core strength, often shooting baskets, using a swing to test balance, and even rolling around on scooters to engage his arm muscles.
He walks with the help of a walker, loves to do push-ups and pull ups, and takes martial arts classes along with his brother.
Jobari's mother, Gina, tells the center, "Jobari has never seen himself as different from other kids; he just does what he needs to do!"
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