Telethon airs this weekend
If you happen to see camera crews throughout Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital this weekend, don’t be alarmed. On-air talent and film crews from WTVF News Channel 5 will be broadcasting live on June 2-3 as part of the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Champions telethon.
The broadcast will run Saturday, June 2 from 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and Sunday, June 3 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For the first time in the show’s 18-year history, live broadcasts will be aired from Children’s Hospital all day Sunday.
“The live remotes from the hospital are the best part of the telethon,” said Rosalie Boyd, Vanderbilt’s CMN coordinator. “They are the very best way to let those watching see the facility and meet real patients and families dealing with real situations as they are happening. It helps drive home to viewers just why it’s so important that we have a hospital designed and dedicated to help kids.”
The telethon will include local segments as well as cut-aways to a national awards gala featuring Jackie Joyner Kersee, Jeff Foxworthy, Roy Disney and Mary Hart. Performers include Sawyer Brown, Brian McKnight, and local talents Katie Darnell and John Rich, who will sing “Rescue Me.” Local segments will feature patient profiles, live interviews with doctors and nurses, and recognition of local sponsors.
The CMN telethon is the largest fund-raiser undertaken by Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital annually. Boyd said it is a yearlong effort that culminates with the telethon broadcast.
WTVF has had exclusive broadcast rights for the telethon in the Middle Tennessee area for the past 17 years. This year’s hosts include Vicki Yates, Hope Hines, Merryll Rose, Harry Chapman, Steve Irvin, Jennifer Krause, Lelan Statom, Nick Beres, Steve Hayslip and Roshini Rajkumar.
Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital is one of 22 original founding hospitals of Children’s Miracle Network. CMN now has more than 170 hospitals in its network. Each year these pediatric facilities treat more than 14 million children. The not-for-profit Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital treats more than 65,000 children annually. Over 200 television stations will carry the CMN Celebration, reaching an international audience of more than 100 million television households.
Funds raised from the telethon help purchase advanced medical equipment and establish special laboratories to promote ongoing research into childhood diseases.
Vanderbilt is currently building a new freestanding Children’s Hospital, which will provide ever-expanding services to Middle Tennessee, Southern Kentucky and Northern Alabama. The new hospital is expected to open in 2003.
To make a pledge during the telethon call (615)-244-1114 or 1-800-878-8064.