Telethon hits the airwaves for worthy cause

Special medical equipment, braces, wheelchairs, therapies, hearing aids and prescription shoes are just a few possible extra expenditures for people living with cerebral palsy, a lifelong condition that affects muscle tone, movement and motor skills.

To help curb some of the additional costs for several Louisiana residents with this incurable disorder, the independent, non-profit health organization, Cerebral Palsy of Louisiana, is hosting its annual Lower Lafourche Area telethon.

“Our mission is to provide assistance with purchase, rental and repair of durable medical equipment and with payment for physical, speech and occupational therapy, prescription shoes, evaluations, etc,” explained Kathy Arceneaux, administrative assistant for the organization.

The Lower Lafourche Telethon will take place at the Cut Off Youth Center Saturday, Aug. 28, from 4 to 10 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 29, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The show will air live on Vision Communications, channel 5 and on the organization’s website.

The poster representative for the late August telethon is 13-year-old John Turchin, son of Rachel and John Turchin of Larose. The honorary chairperson is Linda Terrebonne of Cut Off.

The Bayou Bell Ringers, Faye Jones and the Blue Eyed Soul Revue are scheduled to make an appearance and the anticipated emcees include Ken Freidlander, Curt Boudreaux, Harold Adams, Connie Callais, Curtis “Chick” Martin, Ray Bernard, Steve Stall, Ernest Boudreaux, Henry Lafont, Reed Callais and Rodney Doucet.

Inside of both fundraising events, the familiar, oversized fishbowl beckons to be filled with donations of any denomination.

“And if you come down to the site and drop in $25 or more into our fishbowl, you get an ‘I Helped’ t-shirt,” Arceneaux added.

In person donations can be made on or off camera, and phone donations are read on air, unless callers wish to remain anonymous.

In 2009, the telethon raised $95,737. Every year this number increases, according to Arceneaux, though there is a bit of uncertainty as to what will happen this year.

“With what’s going on in the Gulf and the economy, we are not really sure what to expect,” she said. “We are being really optimistic about it, but we are expecting somewhat of a decrease. We don’t set a goal for each year. We just hope to raise more than the year before.”

Fortunately for the non-profit group, the vast amount of volunteers and donated products and services help offset production costs for the telethon event.

“We are very fortunate because we don’t have many of the costs because most of it is donated,” said Arceneaux. “The air time is donated. The phone cost in Cut Off is donated. … We get a good rate in the hotel, and all of the food is donated. There is still going to be some costs, but it’s not nearly what it could be.”

The administrative assistant said that none of this would be possible without the help of the volunteers.

“We are so appreciative of the people in the community that come out and support this event, because we couldn’t do it without their help,” she said. “We have four paid staff for the whole state, so we depend on hundreds of volunteers for our events.”

The organization holds yearly telethons in Lafayette, Monroe and Alexandria. Other fundraising efforts include local bingo games held several times a month and coin-collection containers placed in retail stores throughout the state.

For the past 40 years, Cerebral Palsy of Louisiana has hosted a telethon in our area. Every year, many of their clients stop by the event to visit and show their appreciation, which is something Arceneaux said she looks forward to.

“My favorite part is getting to see a lot of the clients that come in and say hello. The only times we get to see a lot of these individuals are at our Christmas party in December or at the telethon,” she said. “It is amazing to watch them grow-up.”