Ill Children Benefit From Flower Sale

Thousands of employees at San Diego area businesses donned colorful carnations Thursday to help raise money to aid critically ill children at Children’s Hospital and Health Center.

The flowers were part of a “Karnations for Kids” fund-raiser designed to benefit and publicize the Children’s Miracle Network Telethon, which will be seen May 31 and June 1 on KFMB-TV (Channel 8). The telethon is a nationwide event.

Sponsors hope to raise more than $6,000 from the sale of carnations at six participating businesses. Sallye Sickman, special events coordinator at the hospital, said that about 4,500 red, white, blue, pink and lavender carnations had been distributed to IMED Corp., Teledyne Ryan Electronics, Security Pacific Finance Corp., Executone, the San Diego County Office of Education and Children’s Hospital.

Employees donated $1 for a carnation and an unsigned message that they wished to send to a co-worker. The recipient could only learn the name of the sender by spending 50 cents. Many of the companies agreed to match whatever amounts the employees raised, Sickman said.

Sickman said that all of the flowers had been donated by the San Diego County Flower Growers Assn., which also pledged to donate flowers to other businesses who want participate in a carnation fund-raiser. Interested businesses should contact Children’s Hospital, Sickman said.