SASKATCHEWAN — No one would have believed that after that milestone first Saskatchewan telethon in 1977, that surpassed far what anyone dreamed for fundraising making a historical first event, would hit 50.
Fast forward to today and those involved in Kinsmen Foundation and TeleMiracle are feverishly working on planning and celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saskatchewan’s only telethon, ensuring it will be done in style.
TeleMiracle 50 Chairperson Tammy Blackwell says their intention is to honour the legacy.
A contingent of TeleMiracle 50 representatives that included Blackwell made their way through downtown Saskatoon for the Saskatoon Exhibition parade proudly supporting Peter Kilburn, who rode along with the energetic walkers. Kilburn was the first chair of the Kinsmen Foundation and one of TeleMiracle founders
Kilburn is credited with leading the team who started Kinsmen Foundation, which was approved at Kin District Convention. The Foundation’s two main goals were to: first, provide fellowship and service for the Kinsmen and Kinettes on a provincial basis as prior to that all clubs just did their own projects in their own communities; second, to provide funding to anyone in the province who had a physical, mental or social disability and couldn’t get funding from any other source.
The TeleMiracle website outlines in their history that in 1975 discussions began to find a way to raise more money and the idea of a telethon was born. Urban Donlevy, another member of Saskatoon’s Kinsmen Club, was appointed Chairman of the first organizing committee and after thousands of hours of work, the first TeleMiracle took place Feb. 5-6, 1977.
The TeleMiracle website includes audio recordings of both of these founders, under the history tab, showcasing their vision and determination to create this part of our provincial culture and tradition.
Common goal united Kinsmen and Kinettes across the province
Kilburn felt this also offered a way to unite Kinsmen and Kinettes across the province and it would initiate a bigger passion project under one banner. His vision was to close the funding gaps in gaining independence for this group of people as well as offering a better quality of life and it’s what drove the need to forge on in their goals.
Kilburn travelled to explain the concept of the foundation and at the District Convention in 1970, a resolution was passed to start the foundation with the first-ever goal of $25,000. These funds all came from the province’s Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs who would send a portion of their fundraising dollars to the foundation. The demand far outpaced the amount of available funds so it became clear early that something on a much larger scale needed to occur.
Blackwell said she learned that the concept of a telethon evolved between 1973-74 in what Kinsmen do best, telling funny stories and enjoying food, fun and fellowship. This inaugural idea gained momentum from there.
The Kinsmen were well connected and Prince Albert TV personality Jim Scarrow was a key Kinsmen member who also owned a P.A. radio station, so they were able to build on his many media connections. Scarrow produced TeleMiracle for the first seven years. Kilburn affirmed that they now had the ability to host something on TV because they had Jim and the pieces soon fell together.
The founding contingent travelled to Alberta to watch a telethon returning with the knowledge and confidence that it would work in Saskatchewan, knowing that the Kinsmen and Kinettes as well as the province's residents would fully support it. Little did they know how much that strong foundation of clubs and people would continue in supporting TeleMiracle for 49 years.
Blackwell adds, “Lots of components of that very first show is still in place like on air presentations, high-quality Saskatchewan talent, being visible in the active part of the show, and growing totals shown regularly.”
In Donlevy’s audio interview he talks of raising enough money to cover expenses that that treasury may have been ready to shut down the show once that was covered, however he intervened with what is now a TeleMiracle tradition, “Where are we going? Higher!”
TeleMiracle is part of the province's community culture
To date, TeleMiracle has raised a remarkable $171M. The first TeleMiracle in 1977 set a record for the most money raised per capita in a telethon fundraiser. In 1983, TeleMiracle passed the $2M mark for the first time and the $3M mark in 2001. Other milestones were hit and in 2022, TeleMiracle hit the $8M mark for the first time thanks to some large bequests that year.
People connect to the telethon and its goals because almost everyone in the province knows of someone that has been assisted with these funds. The concept of raising a little, such as simply purchasing a helping hand at a store, or holding a bake sale has enlisted thousands of people to get on board. There are traditions that raise a lot including the annual Agro bed push. Regardless of the size of the donation, the 20-hour united crowdfunding efforts are truly a miracle for those in need.
Saskatchewan residents take great pride in not only supporting the annual telethon but telling others about it, or creating fun, family traditions around it. It has become a generational legacy that stays high on the priority list for families of Kinsmen and Kinettes.
“How brave these big thinkers were and how determined they were to forge through those early events to put the building blocks down for what TeleMiracle is today,” acclaims the Telemiracle 50 Chair.
Evolving from the first days of simple skate-a-thons and penny parades to a province-wide SARCAN bottle drive, helping hands sales and dozens of other creative fundraising ideas, as well as expanding to online streaming enlisting people from other provinces to donate, or the remarkable people that choose TeleMiracle as their beneficiaries in their wills just adds to how special and amazing this annual telethon fundraiser is.
Stay tuned to the TeleMiracle website, https://telemiracle.com/ , as well as all of their social media channels for all the latest news and updates on the plans being finalized for the 50th anniversary of TeleMiracle, upcoming in 2026. Check with your community’s Kinsmen, Kinette or Kin Club on how you can help or start a fundraiser on your own using simple suggestions on the website or creating something on your own. But the best advice, be ready to ring those phones and the bells to celebrate this golden event.
