The 36th annual United Way telethon is right around the corner ... this weekend to be more exact.
The televised activities that hopefully will lead the way to the collection of $335,000 or more, get underway Friday morning at 8 o'clock.
The official counting and on-air activities will wind down at 5 p.m. Saturday with action central being the Legion Memorial Hall in Estevan.
The 33-hour event boasts a well of local entertainment and information regarding member agencies, said the United Way's communications volunteer Lori Buchanan.
Each of the 17 member agencies will be heard from during the telecast on Access Channel 7 and they will provide information regarding their impact projects and how they spend the money that comes to them through the United Way as they invest in the betterment of the local community.
The Daae and Foster families will be coming back again this year to entertain on the stage on Friday evening and the ECS Stomp group has already been slated in for 5:15 p.m. on Friday.
On Saturday, the entertainment lineup includes the always popular Lexie Tytlandsvik along with the Estevan area's Red Hat Society. The full lineup of talent and the guest hosts is listed in this week edition of The Mercury.
"We are thrilled to welcome back so many talented favourites and those who are new to our stage," said Buchanan.
Homemade items for the raffle table have been collected and United Way officials said they are always grateful for those items that add significant sums to the overall total.
The UW concession will again be open.
This year's pledge line is 340-0451 and the bid line for the auction items will be 340-0458.
Donations of any amount are welcome and accepted during the telethon. They can be taken right to the Legion Hall, so the invitation is out to come and join in the fun at any time.
Pledges that are made prior to, or during the telethon may be mailed to the United Way, Box 611, Estevan, S4A 2A5 postage free.
Pledged donations are accepted at Spectra Credit Union as well as at the TD Canada Trust, CIBC, Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank until noon of Nov. 5.
The theme of this year's event is Be the Difference.
UW president Roberta Derosier, and the various committees that put in the big effort to make this annual event a big success, said they wanted to thank the community once again for getting on board with a spirited response to the call for help.
Anyone wishing to volunteer and wanting more information is invited to contact the UW of Estevan at 634-7375 or connect at [email protected]
