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Care at Children’s leads to family’s involvement
For the Roberg family, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota became a home away from home for more than five years when daughter Kelsey Lynn was being treated for cancer before she died at age six in 1990.
“The kids at Children’s are inspiration to us all. Their spirit is so vibrant,” said her dad Kevin Roberg. “Children’s became part of our family. Everyone treated us so well—we felt an obligation to give back through participation.”
That participation over the last 20 years has included serving on Children’s Foundation board of directors, Children’s board of directors, Family Advisory Council, and funding the Kelsey Lynn Roberg Family Resource Center at Children’s - St. Paul, the oncology play area, and Kelsey’s Corner (a residence for parents of oncology patients at Children’s). They also sponsored 16 Kelsey Classic Golf Tournaments that raised more than $2 million for Children’s and the Ronald McDonald House.
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L to R: Kevin Roberg, Colleen Ryan, Scott Bullock, Molly Carson, Kate Hegman, Mike McElroy, and Tess Ryan.
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These fundraising efforts were not just the Robergs—they had many close friends that joined in support of it. “All of these friends knew Kelsey, or knew of her, and remember her as the life of the party even at six years old,” said Kevin. “Some of them had their own experiences at Children’s or know someone that did. Children’s is such an asset to the community that people want to give back.”
Their latest effort, funding a Ronald McDonald House inside Children’s - Minneapolis, was inspired by Jim Ryan, former Children’s board chair. “Jim asked me to consider the idea and to let my friends make the decision to participate in the fundraising. Jim was a great influence on all of us in the community. Close friends are helping to fund the common areas for the project and I am confident we will reach our goal.”
Kevin remembers while Kelsey was going through treatment that he or his wife, Cindy, slept on the chair in her room and it wasn’t easy. The in-hospital Ronald McDonald House will help parents cope with the crisis of a critically ill child. The Ronald McDonald House provides living space so families can be near their children during treatment and also offers many support programs for parents and siblings. “It complements what Children’s is already doing,” Kevin said. “Parents can get away and spend some together with their families, yet are just a few minutes away from their child.”
The Ronald McDonald House donors include: Kevin and Cindy Roberg, Jim and Colleen Ryan, Pat and Ann Ryan, Kay Dobbs, Gary and Kathy Blackford, Mike and Katie McElroy, Dan and Janet Dryer, Al Geiwitz and Mary McMahon, and Scott Bullock and Debera O’Leary.
Read more stories like this in Children’s 2008 Annual Report (PDF).
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