ESTEVAN - The United Way Estevan has had so many memorable moments in the 46-year history of its fundraising telethon, but it’s unlikely they have had something like the one on Saturday.
This year’s telethon finished with an off-air total of $350,053, which surpassed the goal of $350,000. And the telethon didn’t clear the objective until the last minute of the show.
When the initial closing ceremonies were held at 4:50 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, the United Way’s total stood at $348,112. The board members gathered together in front of the stage and showed the numbers for what they thought would be the final tally.
But a donation for $1,800 came in from Jeremy and Leanne Carlson, pushing the United Way above its goal. The board members gathered for a second time and celebrated reaching their objective.
“The emotions that came over me when I looked and I saw that the total was over $350,000 was almost unlike anything I’ve ever felt before,” said United Way board president Robert Godfrey.
Godfrey cried as he announced the Carlsons’ donation. Afterwards he called the final minutes the most “emotional roller coaster” of his life.
“It’s been amazing for multiple reasons. One, it’s just amazing to see the community come together and be reunited for our telethon this year, but I think more than that, it’s amazing just because I know how much of an impact this is going to have on our member agencies and all of the organizations that we support. And so it’s great to know we’ll be able to fulfill all of the allocations that we had planned,” said Godfrey.
After the telethon, Godfrey called United Way Canada president and CEO Dan Clement to inform his that Estevan had reached its goal. Clement responded with his congratulations.
Proceeds from the telethon will be directed to the United Way's member agencies and community projects.
The telethon went on the air at 8 a.m. on Friday morning. The entire event happened at the Royal Canadian Legion's Estevan branch, and could be viewed on Access Now or at www.unitedwayestevan.com.
Donations came in steadily throughout the opening day of the broadcast. The telethon eclipsed the $100,000 mark at about 6 p.m. Friday and had a total of more than $110,000 as of 10 p.m. Friday night.
A couple of large annual donations came in Saturday afternoon, pushing the United Way close to its goal.
SaskPower came through with $100,036 at around 2 p.m. Money was raised through initiatives by the SaskPower employees in Estevan, and then was matched by the Crown corporation.
About 30 minutes later, a donation of $86,790 was courtesy of the United Mine Workers of America Local 7606, and was matched by Westmoreland Mining LLC.
Entertainers from the community lent their talents to the broadcast. Several schools performed Friday morning and early afternoon. In the past couple of years, school entertainment has largely been virtual.
And then there were people from the community and elsewhere in the southeast who sang, danced, played musical instruments and found other ways to entertain from Friday afternoon until Saturday afternoon. The Daae Family was the closing act, and Godfrey was happy to have them play live.
Some entertainers who couldn’t make it to the telethon because of scheduling conflicts sent in pre-recorded videos.
There was a cooking competition, a dance class, a yoga class, a fitness session and a coffee-painting course with Lauren Daae.
“It makes it amazing to be in the legion hall, and that’s what was really special,” said Godfrey.
The Estevan Comprehensive School's student representative council held their annual takeover from midnight to 6 a.m. Saturday. Students provided entertainment, played games and handled other duties in front of the cameras and behind the scenes.
“The Comp. kids, every year, blow me away with how well they do. They take the biggest entertainment slot in the hardest time, from midnight to 6 a.m., and this year the entertainment flowed throughout the entire evening. There wasn’t a lull.”
They were also well informed about the United Way and its work in the community, he said, and respectful of the venue.
More than 80 hand-crafted bid items were available through a silent auction. All items were created by current or former residents of the Estevan area. The merchandise was posted online a few days before the telethon and drew lots of bids before the broadcast began. They could also be viewed at Murray GM.
“I think that plays a big role in the amount we’re able to raise with our bid items,” said Godfrey.
More than $5,000 was raised from the bid items, while the Hearts and Hands Quilt Guild donated a quilt for a raffle that also sold a lot of tickets.
The theme for this year was reUnited and it Feels so Good, which reflects the end of COVID-19 restrictions. Godfrey was pleased to see so many people in attendance at the legion hall this year.
“What was amazing was just being able to be at the hall the whole time, talk to all of our entertainers and the volunteers and the people in the audience. It just felt so right, it felt so normal again. That’s one of my favourite parts of telethon weekend is there’s just an energy that exists in the legion hall that is just so uplifting and so much fun.”
The board members were all really supportive of him throughout the broadcast. It was a daunting feeling when the end of the telethon approached and he didn’t know if they would reach their goal.
“I was just really thankful for the support of all of the board of directors who gave me so much encouragement and so much support for me to get up there.”
Godfrey said he anticipates more donations will come in during the next few weeks, so they will be able to allocate additional money to member agencies and community partners.
