About the Event
2023 KSL Give-A-Thon
Thursday, October 19
The KSL Give-A-Thon is an annual event raising funds to benefit Primary Children’s Hospital. Tune in to hear heartwarming stories from patient families and learn about cutting-edge innovations from dedicated caregivers.
The 2023 KSL Give-A-Thon will be held October 19, broadcast live from the KSL Broadcasting station on KSL TV and Radio, together with FM100.3 and 103.5 The Arrow, throughout the entire day.
How to Participate
Sponsorship Opportunities
By sponsoring the 2023 KSL Give-A-Thon, you will reach thousands of community members and become a part of the Give-A-Thon legacy. Your support will help us provide a flourishing environment of pediatric clinical excellence and quality while pioneering research programs with an emphasis on translating the latest scientific discoveries into the most promising therapies for our patients.
If you or your company are interested in becoming a sponsor of the event, please reach out to Julia.Saxton@imail.org to discuss sponsorship opportunities.
Volunteer at Give-A-Thon
Join our incredible team of volunteers supporting the KSL Give-A-Thon phone bank. As a volunteer, you’ll have the opportunity to answer calls from caring community members and accept donations over the phone. By joining us, you’ll directly impact the lives of children at Primary Children’s Hospital. Sign up now using the provided link below and make a difference in your community today!
To participate in the Give-A-Thon phone bank, please sign up with this link.How to view the 2023 KSL Give-A-Thon
Watch or listen to the KSL Give-A-Thon on ksl.com or on FM100.3 and 103.5 The Arrow. You can also watch the video below to hear stories from the 2022 KSL Give-A-Thon.
Alexandra's Story
Alexandra Cordova is a feisty, generous, self-advocating 16-year-old artist who recently held her own art show to raise money for a cause near to her heart: mitochondrial disease.
Alexandra was diagnosed with Kearns-Sayre Syndrome (KSS) when she was 8 years old.
It’s an aggressive, degenerative disease that affects many systems in the body. KSS has damaged her heart enough to require a pacemaker, has affected her gait and steadiness while walking, and is taking away her hearing, eyesight, and ability to maintain a steady hand. She has diabetes, immune deficiency, and her body overproduces lactic acids, leaving her feeling as if she’s run a marathon every day.
Still, Alexandra continues to create beautiful art. In May, her work was part of a Salt Lake City gallery stroll, where she sold all 33 of her creations to support mitochondrial disease research and awareness. This gesture was no surprise to her parents, who say she’s known for asking for money for her December birthday, then spending the money to buy Christmas gifts for others.
She’s a lot like the people in the heartwarming videos about perseverance that she loves to watch on YouTube.
“She seems fine, she keeps herself busy and watches very positive things. She’s also very well educated about the disease and what’s affecting her,” said her mom, Victoria Cordova. “She has a great sense of humor and is always creating.”
Her neurologist, Dr. Russell Butterfield of University of Utah Health and Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, said that after a long diagnostic odyssey, genetic sequencing on a muscle biopsy sample determined Alexandra was missing about half of her mitochondrial genes. Mitochondria power the body’s cells.
“It’s a very aggressive disease, and she has a worse case than many other children do,” he said. “The fact she has enough in her to be part of this world, and do beautiful things, is amazing to me.”
Dr. Butterfield said that he and the other experts from the University of Utah and Primary Children’s Center for Personalized Medicine are working to develop more tools and therapies to help kids like Alexandra in the future. The center was created thanks to philanthropy.