Rainbow Connection Telethon raises $260,182.70
Nancy Molnar The Times-Reporter @nmolnarTRStaff Reporter
NEW PHILADELPHIA The 46th annual Rainbow Connection Telethon raised $260,182.70, exceeding last year's total of $225,370.05.
After the eight-and-a-half hour event concluded at 7 p.m., Executive Director Carmel Haueter hinted that another big project will be announced this year, following the theme of inclusion of such ongoing improvements as a Challenger Baseball field with accessible dugouts and a handicap-accessible fishing pier at Tuscora Park.
Haueter's customary goal is to exceed the previous year's fundraising total by a dollar.
"We surpassed it by a lot of money," she said. "When you go off-air with a local telethon at over $260,000, it's pretty amazing. That's Tuscarawas County for you. We're not one of the bigger counties, I'm guessing, in the state, and here we are, raising $260,000 in a day.
"The sky's the limit. We're going to have a lot of projects, a lot of big projects this year."
Haueter said the community's generosity has allowed the Rainbow Connection to grow beyond helping people with catastrophic illnesses into addressing quality-of-life issues to improve the community.
"You know, it takes a lot of people to raise $260,000. That is not a one-woman operation," Haueter said.
The organization's entire board of directors attended the telethon. Hundreds of volunteers and other participants passed through the event, staged at Tuscarawas Central Catholic High School.
Haueter said that for many people, supporting the Rainbow Connection is a tradition that spans generations. She said the organization has successfully attracted young supporters.
"Their dads were here. Their moms were here. Their grandparents were here for the Rainbow Connection. This is part of life. They learned at a very, very young age, community service, and that's why they're still here for the Rainbow Connection," she said.
Brad Zimmerman, president of the Board of Directors of the Rainbow Connection, participated in the telethon with his son, Andrew Zimmerman, 36, a Claymont High School history teacher.
They were following in the footsteps of their father and grandfather, the late Donald Zimmerman, who was among the organization's founders in the 1950s.
Andrew's students made metal artwork sold in the telethon. He answered the phone during the fundraiser on Sunday.
Brad said he brought his children to the telethon when they were still in diapers.
"There's obviously several dozen of those kinds of stories ... a lot of other families that have two or three generations involved." Brad said. "It's just one big family that does this. Everybody knows what they need to do."
More information about the organization is available online at www.tuscrainbow.org.
Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.
On Twitter: @nmolnarTR