How a hospital’s PR team responded to a fundraiser frenzy

A gaggle of big Hollywood names is a resource that every hometown ought to have—especially if they’re raising money for a hospital treating children with cancer.

Every year, five celebrities who grew up in Kansas City return with their show-biz friends to raise money for a pediatrics hospital.

When this year’s event took place last weekend, Children’s Mercy Kansas City launched its annual PR push for its Big Slick fundraiser, seeking donations through the efforts of celebrities Rob Riggle, Jason Sudeikis, Paul Rudd, Eric Stonestreet and David Koechner.

The event—which raised a record $1.3 million for the hospital’s new cancer center—draws big-time news coverage and social media engagement, of course. When you have a two-person PR team, that leaves a lot of scrambling to get things up on your digital newsroom while fielding calls from reporters.

“The last few years it was essentially a couple of us on our phones, just trying to record everything while also working with the media,” says Jake Jacobson, senior manager for public relations at Children’s Mercy.