Ernie Blankenship Memorial Radio-Telethon raises $100,414
The Highland County Press
The Hillsboro and Greenfield Rotary Clubs are hosting the 43rd annual Ernie Blankenship Memorial Radio-Telethon from 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, March 25. Pledges can be made during the event by calling 937-393-4246 for the Hillsboro event and 937-981-7731 for the Greenfield location.
The NCB event will be broadcast live from 6-9 p.m. on Buckeye Country 105.5 and the Time Warner Community Access channels in the Hillsboro, Lynchburg and Leesburg areas. It will also be streamed on www.tech-t.com/telethon. Greenfield’s event will be broadcast from McClain High School on WVNU 97.5 and on the Time Warner Community Access channel.
Individuals and groups wishing to make donations are invited to come to either location to do so. Pledges can be made during the event by calling 937-393-4246 for the Hillsboro event and 937-981-7731 for the Greenfield location.
As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, the 2015 pledge totals were $94,587 in Hillsboro.
The 2014 event raised over $143,000 for the Society, which uses the funds to assist Highland County children and adults who are unable to pay for medical for medical treatment, medical devices, physical assistance devices, prescription drugs and other expenses not covered by insurance or other programs. Since 1973, the annual radio-telethon has raised over 3.25 million dollars.
The Society is a unique organization which began as a local group working to help disabled children in Highland County in conjunction with the National Easter Seal Society, which was founded by a Lorain, Ohio Rotarian, Edgar Allan, in 1934. In 1954, the local group became affiliated as a chapter of the Ohio Easter Seal Society, and for many years, the Hillsboro and Greenfield Rotary Clubs, along with other county groups, conducted various fundraising activities to support the society which at that time focused on helping disabled children.
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In 1981, at the urging of Rotarians and others, the Society Board voted to incorporate as a non-profit independent charity and dropped its affiliation with the Easter Seal Society so that all funds raised would be used for direct services for Highland County residents. In recognition of the fact that the needs for assistance for many of its past clients continued into adulthood, the name of the group was established as the Highland County Society for Crippled Children and Adults. The word “crippled” was dropped from the name in 1993 to reflect that the group was helping children and adults with numerous types of medical conditions.
Over the past five years, the Society has helped an average of 400 or more Highland County residents each year with various medical and related expenses that they cannot afford. During that same period, the Society received approximately 100 calls for assistance each month. Gayle Coss is the Executive Director and conducts the daily work from her home, along with a part-time assistant, Carol Colville. The administrative costs of the organization are usually between nine and 11 percent of the funds received.
The radio-telethon is now the major source of funding for the Society. In 2013, the event was named the Ernie Blankenship Radio-Telethon in honor of his long service as emcee and chairman of the Hillsboro Rotary Club committee.
This year’s poster child is Jayah Chaney, daughter of Linda and Chuck Chaney. She will appear at both locations to support the event. Rotarians will be taking donations prior to the event as well. Anyone making a pledge by telephone can send their checks to the Society at P.O. Box 258, Hillsboro, or drop it off at any of the local banks.
(To be updated...)