What started as a friendly competition between clinical teams to see who could collect the most spare change has evolved into a bonafide volunteer initiative for Intermountain Health. A pretty impressive one too, considering that in December 2019 those pennies, nickels and dimes, appropriately called “Change the World,” added up to a hefty donation for the 21st annual 98.5 KLUC Chet Buchanan Show Toy Drive.
Every year, Buchanan, a DJ for the radio station, camps out for up to two weeks non-stop on a scaffold suspended 30 feet in the air. With rare exceptions, he doesn’t come down until his goal is met. Driven by the motto “One more toy, one more bike, one more dollar,” Buchanan’s 2019 goal smashed earlier years with the collection of 9,540 bikes and toys sufficient to fill 41 freight trucks, and raised $603,320 in cash donations. Intermountain Health’s contribution included 50 bikes and scooters, $145 in Discovery Children’s Museum tickets, and a check for $2,566. Buchanan exhorted the donation and company as a “spectacular group of people who are just fun to have around!”
