Radio hosts fulfill promise, shovel asphalt after raising more than $300K for Child Cancer Fund

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Friday, two of our radio friends threw on hard hats and got to work to pay off a bet, and it was all for a very special cause.

WOKV Morning News host Rich Jones along with Action News Jax consumer advisor and nationally syndicated radio talk show host Clark Howard traded their usual mics and studios for shovels and asphalt.

“This is so great being outside doing something fun,” Clark remarked.

It’s all to help build a better future for kids who experience childhood cancer.

Last month, Action News Jax aired the 8th Annual Care-A-Thon with our radio partners at WOKV, raising money for the Child Cancer Fund of Northeast Florida, which provides financial assistance for children’s families.

“We had stalled out. We had 18 minutes left after all day Rich was on the air,” Howard recalled.

“I came up with this crazy idea. You come up with something really novel, and people respond. I was like, ‘He and I will go pave a road if you get us to 300,000,’ and you looked at me like I was out of my mind, which I was,” he said as he gestured to Jones who laughed in agreement. “But the goal was clear: to serve these children,” he added.

And that proved to get them past their $300,000 fundraising goal.

It was a victory for cancer survivors like Josh Rubeiro.

“It blew me away that there were that many people that wanted to support this cause,” he said.

“I was gonna make it happen because I wanted to see this,” said Carla Montgomery, who represents the Child Cancer Fund. “I wanted to see these two delicate flowers do some dirty work,” she added with a chuckle.

So Jones and Howard showed up at Duval Ashpalt, another partner in the Cara-A-Thon, and they both threw on a new work outfit, complete with a golden shovel.

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Radio hosts fulfill promise, shovel asphalt after raising more than $300K for Child Cancer Fund

But this gear wasn’t just for show! Howard and Jones put them to use as they both helped pave a new portion of the company building’s parking lot off Lane Avenue for about an hour.

“If we stop and think about the difficult journey that these kids go through each and every week, each and every day they’re going in for treatment, they’re going in for some really scary stuff,” Jones explained when he thought of the hardships kids with childhood cancer experience.

“If the worst that happens to us is we get tarred and feathered a little bit, and maybe a little bit of asphalt in our hair and whatnot, and maybe sweat a little bit, that’s actually OK!” he noted.

Jones and Howard are open to new ideas to help raise money for next year’s Care-A-Thon!

The Child Cancer Fund covers costs for families whose children have cancer by helping pay for things like gas, food, and basic necessities.

You can donate to the organization year-round HERE.

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