When the United Way Estevan’s telethon went off the air on Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m., people in Estevan and the surrounding communities had pledged more than $350,000 for the United Way’s member agencies and community partners.
It was an astounding total, one of the best in the 41-year history of the broadcast. The United Way had eclipsed its goal, ensuring it would not only be able to provide the funding it promised to its member agencies, but also to give a little more to some of the agencies.
A few more donations will come in before the end of the year. They always do. And that will allow the United Way to give even more.
The telethon has been a source of pride for the community since its debut in 1977. The United Way was looking for ways to attract more support. It found a winner with the broadcast, which was 36 hours at the time.
The goal of $36,000, or $1,000 an hour, seemed very ambitious, but before the halfway point of the telethon, the goal had been surpassed, and just like today, the telethon kept going after the goal was eclipsed. That first telethon would close with a total of more than $60,000, surpassing even the loftiest of expectations.
An Estevan institution was born.
A lot has changed since then. Obviously the telethon raises a lot more money and the member agencies’ needs are much greater. The quality of the video and sound has improved, the technology is better and the equipment is much smaller.
But the support has been unwavering. Young people who performed during the telethon as children years ago continue to sing, dance and play musical instruments as adults. Many of the donors have been supporters their entire lives, or at the very least, since they came to Estevan.
Even in the two years in which the United Way didn’t reach its goal during the broadcast, it did so afterwards.
The support shown for the telethon each year reflects how great this community truly is. Yes, the United Way receives those big donations over the course of the 33 hours, but the donations that make such a big difference are the $5, $10 and $20 contributions, or the kids who donate money from their piggy banks, or the schools who make donations from bake sales.
Those donations add up. And the United Way wouldn’t reach its goal without them.
The generosity of the people of Estevan doesn’t stop with the telethon. There will be a number of fundraisers this month that will receive excellent support, assisting healthcare, the arts, animals and local residents in need, among others.
But it’s great to see that each year, regardless of the state of the economy, the people of Estevan stand behind the United Way and the organizations it supports.
