Sick kid's telethon celebrates 15th year

The Bay St. George Sick Children's Foundation Telethon has been going strong for 15 years. Organizers hope this year is no different.

The telethon, scheduled for March 21, is the only annual fundraiser to support local families of children with illnesses who must travel for treatment.

Last year's telethon raised nearly $60,000 so foundation president Marsha MacInnis says it made sense to this year set a fundraising goal of $60,000.

Over the last year the foundation has been able to assist 31 Bay St. George families with costs associated with health care for their children, costing about $32,000.

"They [trips] range anywhere from Corner Brook to Ontario," says Ms. MacInnis.

"In Corner Brook, they often have to go for a tonsillectomy and have to stay in a hotel or hostel, so it becomes expensive and they need assistance."

She says the foundation has also helped families get to and stay near the children's hospital in Halifax and Sick Kid's Hospital in Toronto.

Ms. MacInnis is in the first year of her presidency with the foundation but has been a member for the last three. She says it was important for her to volunteer her time to the foundation because she knows first hand the work and support the foundation provides is not purely financial.

"We had a little girl who was sick, and when she was born we had to go off to the Janeway," she says. "We didn't have a clue where we were going to stay, how long we would be there, and the foundation helped us."

Ms. MacInnis says after the passing of her daughter at age three, then foundation board member Jack Cook called to ask if she would get involved.

"It took a lot of thinking and hesitation on my part, because it was a sensitive issue," she says, saying she decided to get involved because she knows what parents go through.

"I know what that feeling is like when someone calls to tell you your child is sick," she says. "The foundation is able to assist financially, but I find that because I've gone through it not that long ago, I can give a bit of added information about what its like, what the hostel is like, where they can eat, how long of a walk it is from the hostel to the child's hospital - little details like that that parents, especially mom's, find helpful."

The telethon will be broadcast on local cable channel nine. Phone numbers to call during the event are 643-9220 and 1-877-643-9223. It can also be viewed on College of the North Atlantic's website by going to www.cna.nl.ca.

Ms. MacInnis says she hopes local residents will once again make their pledges to the cause this year.

"We're always going to have sick children, so we're always going to need the Bay St. George Sick Children's Foundation."

reporter@thegeorgian.ca