Generous partners and community donors set a new gold standard in raising money for Hawaii’s keiki. The 2025 Kapiolani Radiothon for Kids hit a new record — raising $910,285 for Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children. This surpasses the last record set in 2023 by more than $90,000. The fun and inspiring event was dressed up in gold in honor of Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, which is recognized in September.
New Partners Add Excitement
KSSK’s Perry & The Posse team, Michael W. Perry, Karen Keawehawaii and Sweetie Pacarro.
Day 1 of Radiothon began strong with Perry & The Posse on KSSK FM 92.3/AM 590. King Windward Nissan & Infiniti presented Kapiolani with a $20,000 check live on the air. Navian Hawaii kept the momentum going by triple matching all donations from 8 to 9 a.m. This is the local company’s first year supporting Radiothon, and it came with another gift — a new Comfort Cart with cozy blankets, calming arts and crafts and other items to help create relaxing moments for hospitalized patients during challenging times.
Dr. James Atkisson (center), Navian Hawaii chief medical officer; Ray Vara (far right) Hawaii Pacific Health president & CEO; Gidget Ruscetta (second from right), Kapiolani chief operating officer; and Dawn Dunbar (second from left), HPH senior vice president of Philanthropy; with teams from Navian Hawaii and KSSK.
“It’s a true honor to support the Kapiolani Radiothon for Kids and deepen our partnership with Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, whose compassionate care touches the lives of seriously ill and medically fragile children every day,” said Dan Haire, president and CEO of Navian Hawaii. “For 46 years, Navian Hawaii has been privileged to serve the Oahu community, and we remain deeply committed to ensuring that every patient receives the support and care they deserve.”
Rezen Davis is one of those children who recently spent more than a year at Kapiolani after her heart, kidneys and lungs failed following a bone marrow transplant. Her long road to recovery called for around-the-clock care in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. The 10-year-old’s visit to Radiothon brought some to tears, knowing how much she went through.
Kapiolani patient Rezen Davis checks items off the Kapiolani Radiothon for Kids Wish List.
“The Kapiolani doctors, nurses and staff saved my daughter and supported my entire family during some of the most difficult moments in our lives,” Rezen’s mom, Ristina, said. They cared for Rezen when she was on life support, then helped her regain her abilities to walk, talk, eat and play.
“We are so thankful for the donors who funded lifesaving equipment Rezen needed, as well as supported classes in Brain Station, the fully stocked Playroom and plenty of goodies to celebrate her birthdays, holidays and every medical milestone in the hospital.”
One of those donors is Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts. A team dressed up in shades of red revealed that they had raised $33,500 for Kapiolani. Kyo-ya ran a “Burger and Mai Tais” campaign, where $1 was donated for every burger and mai tai sold at their hotels this summer, as well as engaging employee fundraisers, including karaoke and an employee dunk tank.
Michael Takayama (back row, third from left), Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts senior vice president; Jason Ito (back row, fifth from right), Kyo-ya vice president, with the Kyo-ya team; Gidget Ruscetta (back row, far left), Kapiolani chief operating officer; and Sweetie Pacarro (center) KSSK radio personality.
“My wife was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in 2011,” said Michael Takayama, Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts senior vice president. “The hospital was there for our family and ensured that she survived. Today, she is healthy. I look at Kapiolani not only as a hospital, but a village. And in Hawaii, it takes a village to raise a family.”
The KSSK team has been a dedicated partner for every Radiothon and always makes it meaningful and exciting. This year, they launched “Zip Into Giving” to help mark every ZIP code where donations came in from across Hawaii, as well as a mainland map to acknowledge donors from other states who were inspired to support Kapiolani.
“We've already had donations from Big Island, Maui, Kauai and all over Oahu. People on the mainland are giving – Texas and Oakland.” said Sweetie Pacarro, KSSK radio personality. “We’re here for two days raising money from all over the world and we’re so grateful.”
Golden Moments
Another Radiothon partner traveled nearly 5,000 miles to celebrate this golden opportunity. Kelly Gallagher, the founder of Philadelphia-based The Superhero Project, Inc., is a mom of four whose twin boys were born eight weeks premature and spent their first few weeks in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). She started her not-for-profit 10 years ago to support families and hospitals that care for the youngest patients. The Superhero Project’s Ohana Program supports transportation and lodging for NICU families at Kapiolani. Gallagher flew to Hawaii to make another announcement during Day 2 of Radiothon – that The Superhero Project was giving an additional $40,000 to Kapiolani.
Kelly Gallagher (third from left), The Superhero Project founder, with her sons and Amanda Price (second from left), HPH director of Philanthropy; Waynell Hee-Goodman (third from right), Kapiolani manager of medical social services; and Karin Shinkawa (second from right), Kapiolani NICU manager.
“We believe that every family deserves the chance to stay close to their baby, especially during life’s most fragile moments,” Gallagher said. “Through our Ohana Program and our five-year commitment of $140,000 to Kapiolani, we are leading the way to help families remain rooted in love, connection and healing. This partnership reflects our shared belief that family presence is not just comforting, it’s essential to the journey of recovery.”
The big announcement came after a busy morning. Longtime supporter D. Suehiro Electric, Inc., started the day with a triple-match hour, then its volunteer team raised an additional $65,000 through its fundraising efforts in the phone bank.
The D. Suehiro Electric, Inc. team with a 3D printer their gifts helped fund.
Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA) donated $25,000 toward Kapiolani’s future Martha B. Smith Cancer & Infusion Center, which will provide a larger, centralized space for multidisciplinary teams and families, enhanced patient care resources and further efforts for clinical trials and new therapies for women and children.
"It’s really important for us to support the future Martha B. Smith Cancer & Infusion Center,” said Jennifer Diesman, HMSA senior vice president of government policy and advocacy. “We want to ensure that anyone who receives a cancer diagnosis, especially kids, can get the care they need right here in Hawaii with their families and not have to travel to the mainland. We want to be able to support them at home at Kapiolani."
Marking a Milestone
The excitement built throughout the day. Then, just before 7 p.m., a crowd gathered in the Kapiolani dining room for a big announcement. KSSK’s Curt Williams and 2025 Kapiolani Children’s Miracle Network Champion Aurelia Awa revealed the amount raised by generous donors and dedicated partners. Young Kapiolani patients, families and supporters turned to reveal the number — a record-setting $910,825 — through a burst of confetti and applause.
The donations brought the total raised Kapiolani to more than $6 million since Radiothon began nearly 20 years ago.
Lauren Sanborn and her son, Maddox, a Kapiolani patient, look at a NICU incubator that was purchased with the help of donors. Lauren is an employee at King Windward Nissan & Infiniti, which raised money for the 2025 Radiothon.
All donations will go toward items on Kapiolani’s Wish List this year, including:
- Incubators for the smallest babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
- Car seats and helmets for the Injury Prevention Program.
- Children’s books for the NICU library.
- Funding for the Animal Assisted Therapy Program.
- A Super Duper Slime Station and other motivational play items and prizes for kids.
- Confidence Carts with creative items that help cancer patients express themselves and feel more confident when their appearance changes during treatment.
- The future Martha B. Smith Cancer & Infusion Center at Kapiolani.
In all, more than 20 local community groups, companies and sponsors went above and beyond for the 2025 Kapiolani Radiothon for Kids, including Aloha Pacific Federal Credit Union; Clinical Labs of Hawaii; Farmers Insurance Hawaii; Constructors Hawaii, Inc.; Diamond Bakery; Elite Mechanical; Family Mediation Hawaii; Hawaii Dental Service; Hyundai Hope on Wheels; Enterprise Mobility; Hawaii State Federal Credit Union; JN Group, Inc.; Islands Hospice; Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts; Matson; UHA Health Insurance; Watanabe Floral; Windward Auto and Honolulu Hyundai; Motiv8 Foundation; Rainbow Drive-In; the Wo Family; Tony Hyundai Waipio; and Walmart Hawaii stores.