Wild Bill’s Tattoo-A-Thon in Roseville raises hundreds of thousands for UC Davis Children’s ICU
By Erin Heft
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ROSEVILLE, Calif. (KCRA) — Tattoos and children don’t often come up in the same conversation, but in Roseville, one long-time tattoo shop is helping improve hospital stays for critically ill kids, one design at a time.
Inside Wild Bill’s, the self-described oldest single-owner tattoo shop in California, the walls are lined with donation checks representing decades of giving. Add them up, and the total reaches more than $331,500, raised over 24 years for the UC Davis Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) through the shop’s annual Tattoo-a-thon.
This year’s Tattoo-A-Thon is set for Saturday, running from 8 a.m. to midnight at Wild Bill’s, located at 115 Lincoln St.
Thirty tattoo artists have volunteered to work a 16-hour day, donating all proceeds, including tips, to support families with children in the PICU through UC Davis Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network program.
“We’re so grateful to be here at Wild Bill’s Tattoo, where they’re raising money for Children’s Miracle Network at UC Davis, and all the proceeds go to help kids like my son,” said Jamie Duby, a mother whose child has benefited from the fundraiser. “It offers a better hospital stay.”
Wild Bill, the shop’s owner and an artist, said the event is only possible because of the scale of volunteer support.
“We have 30 volunteer artists from all over,” Wild Bill said, adding that his in-house team also donates their full day of work and tips. “We couldn’t do it without them.”
Customers line up not just for the art, but for the impact. Teamika Ashley, who came in to get tattooed during the fundraiser, said she wanted to help children in the community. “Anything to help the children out,” she said. “We gotta build them up, we gotta keep them healthy, we gotta keep them going.”
Wild Bill’s total raised stood at $331,500 entering this year’s event, with updated figures expected after the fundraiser concludes.
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