Nobody knew they were going to hit the milestone they did, but by the end of the Kinsmen and Kinettes 37th annual Telemiracle telethon on Sunday afternoon, the provincial group topped $100 million raised since 1977.
Susan Colbow, Estevan Kinette and Zone H Kinsmen Foundation representative, was part of the local contingent in Saskatoon on March 2 and 3 for the event. She said reaching $100 million made the event a special one.
"That was awesome. There was a lot of excitement around, and then they had Brad Wall make a little announcement when they hit that $100-million mark," said Colbow, who was in charge of the people posting the tote board numbers. "There was a lot of excitement around the place when everybody heard that we got there."
Colbow said nobody really knew how close they were to reaching such a lofty total, so it came as a shock to everyone there.
"Nobody really mentioned anything about it. I think it was pretty unknown for the most part that we were even close to that, so it came as a surprise to everybody there," said Colbow, who said the people behind the numbers probably knew, but it was never alluded to elsewhere. "That's why it was so exciting when we hit that."
The annual fundraiser collected just over $5.5 million during the telethon at TCU Place.
Colbow said everybody just goes to raise money, and they are happy with whatever amount people decide to donate.
"We just go and whatever we raise, we raise. Whatever it is, that's the donation to the people who need it in Saskatchewan."
A lot of the money raised will go toward people who need to travel for medical reasons. If someone needs a stem-cell transplant, they may need to relocate to Saskatoon, Edmonton or Seattle for six months after treatments. The money also provides for scooters and walkers for those who have mobility problems.
Colbow said the weekend festivities went smoothly, though some people were storm-stayed on their way home. Some local Kin members didn't make the trip to Saskatoon because of the threat of severe weather, which arrived full force, but those who did were happy with the telethon.
"The show itself ran smoothly, everybody showed up who was supposed to be there. The national cast was great, so everything was good," said Colbow. "Everybody made it in. Getting out was the tough part."
One group was supposed to come in for an on-air donation but was unable to get in to Saskatoon, noted Colbow.
