Buffalo, Tent 7 hosted its 48th annual Telethon on March 28th. This telethon holds the record for the longest running locally produced telethon in the world. In the very first year in 1963 they raised $80K and through 2009 Variety Buffalo has raised over $40M. In 2010 they tallied over $1.25M.
One of the most special moments of the evening was when an adaptive bike, donated by Freedom Concepts was given to a young physically handicapped girl named Sarah. Sarah was able to bring smiles and tears to everyone's faces just based on her smiles and excitement. But then, to the shock of those with her, she was able to peddle across the stage. Not bad for her first bike outing.
The team in Buffalo works tirelessly on the many components of this event throughout the year. It has grown into a weekend long event that includes a hospital visit for participants and entertainers to see where the fruits of their labor go. Beneficiaries include: Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo, the Robert Warner M.D. Center For Children With Special Needs as well as Boys & Girls Clubs, Challenger Sports Programs, Pre-School Developmental programs and many more.
Iowa, Tent 15 hosted their 36th annual Telethon starting on Saturday March 6th at 7:00 pm through Sunday, March 7th at 6 pm. They raised over $3M with the help of over 3,000 volunteers. This year the Iowa team tapped into an online tool for individuals raising funds for the Variety telethon. The tool allowed people to create their own web page and have their family, friends and co-workers make online donations. The initial feedback was very positive and the team plans to expand on this component next year.
The Iowa Team says their telethon is an opportunity to showcase the hard work of their board, donors, volunteers and staff over the past year. Throughout the 23 continuous hours, they highlight the impact that Variety's dollars have made throughout their state and they recognize the many donors that support their efforts to improve the lives of children. They noted the most touching part of the telethon that relates to the general audience is when they present specialized bikes and wheelchairs to individual children and their families. This year they presented two specialized bikes
The Hy-vee Team supports Variety.
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and one wheelchair during the telethon which is always a tear-jerker on and off stage.
Many stars and big name "reality stars" in Iowa helped the cause including Tony Hatch, Miss World, Jason Cook, Emma Samms, David Anthony Higgins and a Team from
Hy-Vee, a huge corporate supporter of Variety for over 25 years. We're told the Hy-Vee team works tirelessly throughout the year raising money for Iowa's children through in-store promotions, fundraising events and working their vendors. This year, they presented a check for $800,000 during the telethon.
Israel, Tent 51 held their 15th annual telethon in Holy Jerusalem on February 14th with media partner Channel Two Reshet. Their evening was filled with entertainment and heart-touching stories
A Variety beneficiary entertains the audience.
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with a special "Dancing with the Stars" theme. In one night they managed to raise over $2M (US) with big and small donors including $2 mobile phone text messages. A particular highlight of the night was when a popular singer in Israel was accompanied by a young autistic boy on the piano. At the end of the performance, the young boy received the piano as a gift from a donor. The live audience gave a standing ovation and the tears started to flow for a very touching moment. Just one of the many beautiful stories of Variety at work featured during the telethon.
