39th annual telethon collects $120,000
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The 39th annual Rotary telethon is now under way.
Check back to highlandcountypress.com for updates throughout the evening.
The event is once again be hosted by Ernie Blankenship. The Hillsboro telethon will be held from 6-10 p.m. at U.S. Bank, and the Greenfield event will be held at McClain High School.
The event can be viewed on the Hillsboro Public Access station, GCTV-3 in Greenfield and heard on Lite 97.5 WVNU, and 105.5 in Hillsboro.
During the 2010 telethon, the society raised $148,300. The first telethon, held in 1973, raised $1,715. The 2007 event raised an all-time high of $217,043.
Organizers say the society is the only one of its kind, that they know of, and that 100 percent of the funds raised stay in Highland County to help Highland County residents.
The post child for the 2011 telethon is Emily Brook Davis suffers from familial dysautonomia, also known as Riley-Day syndrome, an auto-immune disorder. According to the National Dysautonomia Research Foundation, it affects the control of involuntary functions, and can include heart rate, body temperature, or – in Emily's case – breathing.
Society Director Gayle Coss said helping families like Emily's is what the society is all about.
The telethon is the only fundraiser the society has, and the funds raised during that one day funds the society for the entire year.
Siblings Helen Runyon and Benton Carver are this year's society advocates. Carver told The Highland County Press earlier this year that the society, "saved my life," Carver. I appreciate it. Nine years ago I couldn't get my heart medication. I was disabled, I'd had heart surgery and couldn't go back to work. I had no insurance. I was poor, and the people of Highland County saved my life. And I say thank you and God bless you. They paid for two months of my heart medication. I finally got insurance through the state. The state can only help you a certain length of time when you're disabled."
Carver said that he is trying to garner support for the agency that means so much to him.
"It is wonderful that such a small community is able to do something like this," he said. "I hope that even this year people will be able to give with a loving heart, because God will reward them. I would hate for Gayle to have to say to someone, 'No, we can't buy your child's insulin because we're out of money,' or "No, we can't help you pay for a hotel room so you can stay with your sick child.' Even a dollar will help. If 100 people if a dollar, it can make a difference. I am so happy for the society, and the work that they do. They really did save my life."
The 39th annual Rotary telethon has collected $120,000 to go towards "people helping people" at the Highland County Society for Children and Adults.
The event was once again be hosted by Ernie Blankenship, along with the assistance of Sheriff Ron Ward, Judge Rocky Coss, and other Rotarians. The Hillsboro telethon was be held from 6-10 p.m. at U.S. Bank.
Pledges of $5,000 from NCB and Hillsboro Rotary Club came in early in the telethon. The single largest donation was $15,000 from the Casner Foundation.
The event is once again hosted by Ernie Blankenship.
Blankenship told The Highland County Press moments before the start of this year's fundraiser, "People need to be remembered, not for what they did, but for what they gave. We need people to give tonight."
The Hillsboro telethon will be held from 6-10 p.m. at U.S. Bank, and the Greenfield event will be held at McClain High School.
Blankenship told The Highland County Press moments before the start of this year's fundraiser, "People need to be remembered, not for what they did, but for what they gave. We need people to give tonight."
The Hillsboro telethon will be held from 6-10 p.m. at U.S. Bank, and the Greenfield event will be held at McClain High School.
Donations can be called in to the Hillsboro telethon at (937) 393-5701 or the Greenfield telethon at (937) 981-7731 through 10 p.m.
The event can be viewed on the Hillsboro Public Access station, GCTV-3 in Greenfield and heard on Lite 97.5 WVNU, and 105.5 in Hillsboro.
During the 2010 telethon, the society raised $148,300. The first telethon, held in 1973, raised $1,715. The 2007 event raised an all-time high of $217,043.
Organizers say the society is the only one of its kind, that they know of, and that 100 percent of the funds raised stay in Highland County to help Highland County residents.
The post child for the 2011 telethon is Emily Brook Davis suffers from familial dysautonomia, also known as Riley-Day syndrome, an auto-immune disorder. According to the National Dysautonomia Research Foundation, it affects the control of involuntary functions, and can include heart rate, body temperature, or – in Emily's case – breathing.
Society Director Gayle Coss said helping families like Emily's is what the society is all about.
The telethon is the only fundraiser the society has, and the funds raised during that one day funds the society for the entire year.
Siblings Helen Runyon and Benton Carver are this year's society advocates. Carver told The Highland County Press earlier this year that the society, "saved my life," Carver. I appreciate it. Nine years ago I couldn't get my heart medication. I was disabled, I'd had heart surgery and couldn't go back to work. I had no insurance. I was poor, and the people of Highland County saved my life. And I say thank you and God bless you. They paid for two months of my heart medication. I finally got insurance through the state. The state can only help you a certain length of time when you're disabled."
Carver said that he is trying to garner support for the agency that means so much to him.
"It is wonderful that such a small community is able to do something like this," he said. "I hope that even this year people will be able to give with a loving heart, because God will reward them. I would hate for Gayle to have to say to someone, 'No, we can't buy your child's insulin because we're out of money,' or "No, we can't help you pay for a hotel room so you can stay with your sick child.' Even a dollar will help. If 100 people if a dollar, it can make a difference. I am so happy for the society, and the work that they do. They really did save my life."
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