It’s an event that brings the community together each year to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for people in the Estevan area.
The United Way Estevan’s 39th annual telethon will open at 8 a.m. on Friday morning and continue until 5 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. All of the festivities will be at the Royal Canadian Legion’s Estevan branch, and will air live on Access Channel 7.
“The plans are coming together very, very well,” United Way Estevan president Wendy Gustafson said in an interview with the Mercury. “After our last board meeting, it appears everyone has their committees pretty much filled up, and they’re ready to go. We’re ready for the telethon to come.”
The United Way has set a goal of $338,000 for this year’s broadcast, and the money raised will be directed towards their 15 member agencies and three community partners.
The telethon will boast entertainment throughout its 33 hours. Local schools dot the entertainment schedule for the bulk of the first hours. Then there will be a variety of singers, dancers and instrumentalists of all ages for the rest of the show.
“There are always things to look forward to during the overnight hours, because we never really know what’s going to happen,” said Gustafson. “But we have a few new things this year. Of course, there’s always musical entertainment. And this year, it looks like we’re going to have a cooking show.
“I don’t know what all that is going to involve, but I know it’s going to be fun. Some of the board members will be doing some cooking.”
Local country gospel group The Daae Family will be the closing act.
United Way board members and volunteers will be serving as hosts throughout the telethon. And each member agency and community partner will be interviewed during the broadcast to explain their services and the support they receive from the United Way.
Gustafson said they could still use some volunteers to help out in the kitchen. They could also use assistance with setup the day before the broadcast.
“And there are always jobs that pop up during the telethon,” said Gustafson. “If people are there, and want to volunteer, we can always find spots to fill for people who are looking to help out.”
Local residents have also been crafting items for a bid table that will be part of the telethon. They received commitments for 26 items, as of Thursday morning.
“I think that is a record to have that many in advance,” said Gustafson. “That was the message we were really hoping to get out to everyone, that we need the bid items to come in ahead of time, so we can get a picture of them, and put them online, so that people can see in advance what’s coming up.”
Gustafson hopes they will have all the bid items in place before 8 a.m. on Friday morning. Not only does it give better promotion for those making the items, but it’s better for people who want to bid on something.
The Hearts and Hands Quilting Guild will be making a quilt for this year’s raffle.
Gustafson said a lot of people dedicate many hours to make the telethon a success. They were already planning for this year’s fundraiser the moment last year’s telethon ended. The real push starts in the spring, when they receive allocation requests from the member agencies. Then they set their goal.
Weekly meetings began at the end of August.
“A lot of hours, a lot of time, a lot of small committee meetings outside of the regular board meetings (happen) – I couldn’t begin to add up the hours that go into it, but it’s a lot,” said Gustafson.
A few different companies have held fundraisers already, and Gustafson has been excited to see the money that has been raised.
They have received some donations, but most of the pledges will come in during the telethon. Some donors and companies will issue challenges, which the United Way encourages.
“People just never cease to amaze me how generous they are in this community,” said Gustafson. “I know times are a little difficult, and yet people seem to be able to come together and help out. It’s exciting watching it come together already.”
Last year’s telethon raised $347,665, which surpassed the goal of $340,000.
