Combined to help
Telethon and auction raises $37,000 in New Waterford
They say it’s better to give than to receive, something the New Waterford community knows all too well.
For the past 22 years, the New Waterford and the surrounding area have come together as part of the Combined Christmas Giving Telethon and Auction, an event that raises money to help less fortunate families in the community during the holidays.
The annual event was held Saturday at Rack N’ Roll Billiards in New Waterford, and once again the community was up for the challenge, raising $37,000.
Shelly McLellan, chair of the telethon and auction, was overwhelmed by the support.
“We wouldn’t be able to have the success we’ve had over the past number of years without our wonderful community,” said McLellan.
“We wouldn’t be able to have the auction each year without support from our local businesses, which never let us down.
“For a small community that has low unemployment, raising that much money is amazing — I don’t know anywhere else where you can see such a small community raise as much money as we do each year.”
The event featured live performances throughout the afternoon by local musicians. Firefighters from the New Waterford Volunteer Fire Department were also kept busy during the day, answering phones and collecting pledges.
Following the on-air portion of the event, an in-house auction was held with items donated by local business as part of the fundraiser.
“It takes a whole community to put this on,” said McLellan. “Sometimes they (the musicians and fire department) are calling us and asking when the event is taking place — they’re always up for it, and they want to make as much money as possible.”
The event, which has a resemblance of the well-known Christmas Daddies Telethon, was started by members of the New Waterford community in 1994, with the goal of helping less fortunate families in the community.
At first, the event was taped and featured hosts Jennifer Sheppard, Wendie Muise, Jack Bonaparte and Robert Barrie, before eventually turning to live shows on the Seaside Communications community channel.
Since the beginning, the community, through Combined Christmas Giving, has raised more than $439,408.63, helping 15,113 families, 14,792 children, along with 23,452 singles and couples.
Families, who apply for assistance through Combined Christmas Giving, receive toys for their children as well as a turkey and a gift card for Sobeys, in order to make their Christmas Dinner memorable.
This year, the committee has received 200 applications from families needing assistance.
“We have a list of more applications that we will be going through next week, so by the time we’re finished we’re expecting to have about 260 applications,” said McLellan, noting a possible increase from last year’s number of 227 families.
Susan Aucoin has been volunteering her time to help with Combined Christmas Giving for the past 13 years.
“We do most of the shopping in New Waterford for the families because the town supports us, so we support town before anything,” said Aucoin, who along with Elaine Parsons is responsible for purchasing toys for the children.
“We all like to see kids happy at Christmas, which is why I volunteer my time. It’s something I feel I can do, I have the time and I really enjoy it — it’s all about the children.”
Although the telethon is
over, the Combined Christmas Giving committee is still accepting monetary donations. Anyone wanting to make a donation is asked to contact McLellan at 902-862-6142.
Christmas packages will be distributed to those who registered for the program on Dec. 9 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the New Waterford fire
hall.
McLellan reminds people who made donations to honour their pledges at their local bank. When you honour your pledge, your name will go into a draw for one of two $150 Sobeys gift cards.