Kicking off its annual license plate campaign featuring the recognizable little red wagon, 7-year-old Kilyn Dripps of Noblesville is one of four Riley Hospital for Children patients featured on billboards across Indianapolis from now until June 25.
The billboards are to encourage Indiana motorists to put the Riley red wagon on their wheels.
Dripps was born with tumors near her eye and an interrupted aortic arch and a large ventricular septal defect. While spending her first month of life in the Riley Newborn Intensive Care Unit, she underwent her first open heart surgery to repair her interrupted aortic arch at only a week old. At the age of 2, Kilyn’s ventricular septal defect was repaired in her second open-heart surgery.
With 15 surgeries under her belt, Dripps is now a second-grader at Hinkle Creek Elementary in Noblesville and raises money for Riley through her annual Kilyn’s Krusaders lemonade stand. She also served as a Riley ornament artist during the 2016 holiday season. Dripps said she is excited to help raise money for other kids with medical needs.
Riley plates are available for cars, trucks or motorcycles. A $25 tax-deductible gift goes straight to Riley Children’s Foundation with each plate purchase, raising more than $40,000 for Riley Hospital each year. Motorists can switch to a Riley plate at any time, even if the license plate is not up for renewal, and the BMW will prorate the fee. In 2016, more than 16,000 Indiana motorists across the state had a Riley red wagon specialty license plate.
Drivers can visit MyRileyPlate.org, or any Indiana license branch, and request a Riley plate.
