Memorial to hold 12th Annual Rock-a-thon

The Auxiliary of Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center will hold its 12th annual Rock-A- Thon on Friday, April 26, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the hospital's upper lobby.

But it is not what you think. Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and the Comets or Buddy Holly's music won't be there.

Participants will rock in chairs for half-hour increments with each rocker soliciting pledges to aid the hospital to purchase needed equipment for the medical center.

The Auxiliary has raised nearly $100,000 at previous rock-a-thon events.

Rockers will receive free parking and a 20 percent discount card to be used in the hospital gift shop.

As hospital president Joseph Ruffolo has repeatedly said, using the analogy of the fisherman, "We eat what we catch," meaning that the hospital supports itself on the services it provides. And since the hospital turns no patient away, even when the patient has no ability to pay, resulting in more than $6 million in unpaid medical services provided to indigent people per year, the hospital still manages to pay its bills.

Donations, grants and events like the Rock-A-Thon help keep Memorial strong. For more information, please call Mary Norton at 278-4159 or Jane Schroeder at 579-3406.