Easter Seals fundraiser tops $200,000 mark
Radio personality Dan MacDonald makes a living with his voice but that didn’t keep the nerves at bay when he took a seat behind a phone Sunday for the 35th annual Easter Seals Telethon.
“This is my first time and I’m really excited,” said MacDonald, a familiar voice on 93.9 The River. “My excitement trumps my nervousness.”
Each year the organization gathers some of Windsor’s highest profile personalities to man the phones for a live televised fundraising drive. This year’s event raised $201,265 to help the families of children 18 and under with the high cost of hearing and mobility devices. Funds also help send children to fully accessible summer camps.
“Anywhere above $200,000 and I’ll be happy,” Easter Seals District chair Ram Sridhar said as the day unfolded.
Broadcast live by CTV and livestreamed by WE-TV from Central Park Athletics, this year’s event also featured a free public skate.
Sridhar said the public skate was the idea of officials at Central Park Athletics. “The folks here at Central Park Athletics encouraged us to do it,” Sridhar said of the skate. “They want the telethon to expand to more events here.”
The turnout for the skating was light according to Easter Seals development co-ordinator Afshin Ali, who noted great weather outside may have had something to do with it.
Easter Seals’ history of helping children with disabilities goes back to 1922 with its roots in Windsor. In November of that year, representatives from 10 Rotary Clubs from across the province met in Windsor to discuss the inadequate resources for Ontario children with disabilities. By 1937, the group had opened its first accessible summer camp.
Chatting up donors about the camping and recreation opportunities provided by Easter Seals was McDonald’s assignment.
“I was really excited to be asked,” he said. “It’s such a great cause and the truth is I’ve always had a fantasy of being a telethon host.”