Do you remember that scene in the movie That Thing You Do! when the band hears their song on the radio for the first time?  And they get out of their car (in the middle of the street) and jump around screaming and singing?  Well that was me last year when I heard my songs playing on my favorite radio station during the WDBR Cares for Kids Radiothon.

The Radiothon is a three day event during which money is raised for the Children’s Miracle Network and St. John’s Childrens’ Hospital, right in my hometown of Springfield, Illinois.  Throughout the radiothon, Dave & Dina (the awesome hosts of WBDR’s morning show) interview patients who have received treatment along with their families, and they play songs that accompany several childrens’ stories as they (or their parents) tell them in their own words.

Last year I had the huge privilege of writing two original songs to accompany the stories of Hollie and Sam, which you can hear right here.  I jumped at the chance to do it again; this time around I wrote songs for Will & Cookie, who talk about their brother Jack’s experience as a patient at St. John’s, and another song about the doctors from a patient’s perspective.

I will share my songs here at Listen & Learn after the radiothon is over…but until then, you can hear them either by tuning in to 103.7 WDBR (either on the radio if you’re in Springfield or streaming online).  The radiothon started yesterday and will go through tomorrow.  If you would like to make a donation, you can do so by calling 217-544-KIDS.  Last year, over $92,000 was raised, and I’m hoping that can be topped this year!

The bummer part is that I’m in Cleveland for the AMTA national music therapy conference until Sunday, so I won’t actually get to hear my songs played live on the radio.  But just knowing they are, and that they are part of such an awesome cause, makes up for it :)