Kforce Employee Spotlight: Katie Murillo
Our employees make Kforce a unique, fun and fulfilling place to work. Hear directly from our employees across our Firm on what their role entails, and why they love being a part of our Kforce Family.
In this week’s Employee Spotlight, we took some time to chat with Katie Murillo, a Senior Proposal Analyst who works in our Tampa office. Katie is a valued member of our Kforce Family who helps manage proposal teams, write and edit content, and develop proposal layouts. When she isn’t hard at work here at Kforce, she’s tirelessly giving back to a cause that hits close to home for her family. Katie discussed her work with the Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, an organization that helps raise funds for hospital equipment and resources that would otherwise be difficult to find or fund, and her personal connection to the Walk for Winnie.
How did you get involved with the Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the yearly Walk for Winnie?
I was admitted to Winnie Palmer Hospital when I was 26 weeks pregnant, because our son Myles had intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). At 31 weeks, Myles was born weighing 1 pound 13 ounces and went immediately into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where he spent 54 days. In addition to the time Myles spent at Winnie Palmer Hospital, he has also spent time at Arnold Palmer Hospital for epilepsy treatments and various other medical conditions. The equipment and resources that the Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals donates has helped saved Myles’ life. For example, his NICU incubator that he spent his first 45 days in came from donations the Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals raised.
Each year we participate in the Walk for Winnie to raise funds for the NICU. As a result of our participation with the Walk for Winnie and our continued support for both Winnie Palmer and Arnold Palmer hospitals, the Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals contacted us. We were asked to talk about Myles’ story in their annual radiothon on November 17th. A few weeks later, we were asked to participate in an interview for the Golf Channel and talk about Arnold Palmer’s legacy and his community impact. The Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals has since asked us to be ambassadors for their organization and share Myles’ story in their 2017 campaigns.
What are some of your duties as a Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Ambassador?
As ambassadors, we help give a voice to the babies and children in the hospitals. Some of our duties include participating in fundraisers, sharing our story on hospital tours and volunteering at events.
How have you tied your son’s birthday into your fundraising efforts?
Every year for Myles’ birthday, we celebrate by participating in the Walk for Winnie as team Miracle Myles. We ask people to donate or join our team as part of Myles’ birthday gift. His birthday is September 20th and the event always falls on the weekend before or after his birthday. Over the past three years, we have raised over $7,000 for the NICU.
How can people help support Winnie Palmer Hospital, Arnold Palmer Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals?
We are currently collecting journals for NICU parents to help them document their children’s journey. So far we have collected 35 journals and counting this year. We have also started a Target registry based on the wish lists that the hospitals sent us for the NICU and the children at Arnold Palmer Hospital. The registry is listed under Arnold Palmer (First Name) Hospital (Last Name) and/or Winnie Palmer (First Name) Hospital (Last Name). For example, items like craft supplies are great to help the kids or parents decorate their rooms. Here are some upcoming events:
- February 1–March 7: IHOP collects donations
- March 14: Arnie’s March Against Childhood Cancer (arniesmarch.com)
- April 1: UCF Knight-Thon (Dance-a-thon)
- September: Orlando area Panera’s collect donations for the Walk for Winnie
- November–December: Ace Hardware will round up purchases to donate to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals
- All Year: Walmart and Sam’s Club collect donations in the front of the store and campaign throughout the year
Throughout the year, events are posted online at: www.gocmn.org/events. Local businesses like Publix, Walmart, Panera, Ace Hardware, IHOP and many more collect donations for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals throughout the year. Just remember to look for the yellow and red balloon! You can even become a monthly Miracle Maker with a donation of $15 a month.