Aon Step Up for Kids raises thousands for Lurie Children's Hospital

More than 2,000 people climbed the Aon Center, one of Chicago's tallest towers, on Sunday as part of the Aon Step Up for Kids fundraiser.

The 22nd annual event raised money for children and families being treated at Lurie Children's Hospital.

Eighty floors and about 1,600 steps - all for a good cause. Nearly $830,000 was expected to be raised, which is more than last year.

"It's really what makes a children's hospital, a children's hospital. It's things like spiritual care, music therapy, art therapy. These are the things for families when they need it the most," said Ted McCartan, Lurie's director of community engagement.

This year's patient champion was 2-year-old Aggie Rupnick, who was diagnosed with spina bifida before she was born. She spent the first 28 days at Lurie Children's enduring countless procedures all before her first birthday.

"Just to see the combination of all the hard work of all the departments and all of the steppers, it truly means the world to us because we value Lurie Children's more than anything in the world. They're like a second family to us; a home away from home," said Becky Rupnick, Aggie's mother.

Aggie's story was an inspiration for today's steppers working to give patients and their families a little bit of help during their toughest times.