CBS4 and Children's Hospital Boston Announce Enhanced, Year-Round Partnership

CBS4 and Children's Hospital Boston Announce Enhanced, Year-Round Partnership

New Programming and Public Service Initiatives Expanded to Continue 23-Year Philanthropic Partnership and Transition Annual Children's Hospital Telethon

BOSTON, Oct. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- CBS4 and Children's Hospital Boston today announced plans to expand their 23-year Programming and Public Service partnership by transitioning the December Children's Hospital Telethon into a year-round campaign titled CBS 4 Kids. The revitalized CBS 4 Kids initiative will feature a six-point plan to maximize the hospital's annual fundraising efforts: 1) Monthly features on CBS4 News. 2) Public Service Announcements that will air throughout the year. 3) A half-hour CBS 4 Kids special program that will air on CBS4 and repeat during the year on CBS4 and sister-station UPN 38. 4) A CBS 4 Kids Day of Fundraising on CBS4. 5) A special feature segment about CBS 4 Kids and Children's Hospital on "Sunday with Liz Walker." And, 6) an interactive website with information and links for CBS 4 Kids and Children's Hospital Boston on http://cbs4boston.com/. Here are the details:

1. Monthly CBS 4 Kids News Features: Beginning in October, CBS4 will introduce monthly CBS4 News features highlighting inspirational patient stories and Children's Hospital's innovative pediatric care and research. The CBS 4 Kids news pieces will be reported by CBS4 Anchor Lisa Hughes. 2. CBS 4 Kids PSA Campaign: To promote the various fundraising programs and strengthen its philanthropic support of the hospital, CBS4 will air a series of CBS 4 Kids Public Service Announcements featuring Lisa Hughes. 3. CBS 4 Kids Special The CBS 4 Kids half-hour special will debut on CBS4 on Saturday, December 10 at 1:00PM and will repeat on both CBS4 and UPN 38 throughout December. The special will also have additional airings over the course of the year, and those airtimes are to be determined. 4. CBS 4 Kids Day of Fundraising Throughout the day on Friday, December 9, CBS4 will support the important work of Children's Hospital with a fundraising day. Held in conjunction with the 25th Annual WBZ Newsradio 1030's Children's Hospital Radiothon, CBS4 will cut-away during all newscasts for live interviews at the hospital with Children's patients and staff. CBS4 will solicit community support for the hospital by encouraging viewers to make donations through the Radiothon and auction as well as the http://cbs4boston.com/. 5. CBS 4 Kids Featured on "Sunday with Liz Walker": The superb work and achievements of Children's Hospital Boston, as well as the CBS 4 Kids expanded partnership, will be featured in a segment on "Sunday with Liz Walker" scheduled to air Sunday, December 4 at 11AM. 6. CBS 4 Kids on http://cbs4boston.com/ Throughout the year, and as part of each facet of the CBS 4 Kids campaign, information about the new initiative between CBS4 and Children's Hospital Boston, as well as information on how to get involved and/or donate, will be available at http://cbs4boston.com/.

"The telethon has been a wonderful holiday tradition, generating millions of dollars in essential support for the hospital," said James Mandell, MD, president and CEO of Children's Hospital Boston. "We're excited to continue this tradition with the CBS 4 Kids Special, while extending fundraising efforts with the station throughout the year. CBS4 has been a valuable partner over the past two decades, strengthening Children's ability to improve the health and well being of children."

"For 23 years, CBS4 and Children's Hospital Boston have been dedicated community partners and forceful advocates for children's health and services," said Julio Marenghi, President and General Manager of Boston's CBS4 and UPN 38 as well as UPN 28 in Providence. "This year, as we looked for new ways to maximize the hospital's exposure and ultimately fundraising, we agreed that a development effort spread over the course of a year would likely yield more dollars as well as publicity for Children's Hospital Boston. So we got a team from CBS4 and one from Children's Hospital together to come up with a plan, and we think the CBS 4 Kids campaign will achieve our objectives."

Since the debut of the Children's Hospital Telethon in 1983, CBS4 and Children's have partnered to raise millions of dollars for the hospital. Funds from the program are directed toward unrestricted charitable support, which funds areas of greatest need: patient care, research, and community outreach and education.

About CBS4:

Boston's CBS4 and UPN 38, as well as Providence's UPN 28, are part of the Viacom Television Stations Group, which consists of 21 CBS, 16 UPN, one WB and two stations not affiliated with major networks. WBZ NewsRadio 1030 is an Infinity Broadcasting Company station, a division of Viacom Inc.

About Children's Hospital Boston:

Founded in 1869 as a 20-bed hospital for children, Children's Hospital Boston today is the nation's leading pediatric medical center, the largest provider of health care to Massachusetts children, and the primary pediatric teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. In addition to 347 pediatric and adolescent inpatient beds and comprehensive outpatient programs, Children's houses the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries benefit both children and adults. More than 500 scientists, including eight members of the National Academy of Sciences, nine members of the Institute of Medicine and 10 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Children's research community. For more information about the hospital visit: http://www.childrenshospital.org/.

Contact: Jeff Webster, 617-355-4102 Children's Hospital Boston jeffrey.webster@chtrust.org

Ro Dooley Webster, 617-787-7083 CBS4, UPN 38, UPN 28 rcdooley@cbs.com

Source: Children's Hospital Boston

CONTACT: Jeff Webster of Children's Hospital Boston, +1-617-355-4102, jeffrey.webster@chtrust.org; or Ro Dooley Webster of CBS4, UPN 38, UPN 28, +1- 617-787-7083, rcdooley@cbs.com

Web site: http://www.childrenshospital.org/ http://cbs4boston.com/

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