St. Joseph’s Catholic High School was well-represented Sunday during the annual Reach For The Rainbow Telethon.
The telethon, held at RCI, generates operating funds for Renfrew’s Sunshine Coach program, where those members of the community who struggle with mobility in their daily lives have the opportunity to carry on with their lives outside of their homes without the limitations of disability preventing them from doing so. The distinctive white mini-buses, recognizable around town for years, are a culmination of the efforts of many volunteers, and represent the great spirit of generosity and solidarity that exists in Renfrew.
Among those volunteers are a fairly strong contingent of people from the SJCHS community, who contributed in a variety of ways, either as performers, fundraisers, angels, or receiving pledges over the telephone.
Sitting in the audience for twenty minutes was enough to get a sense of the signature. Up on the stage, Dave Rowat and Pat Watters were performing as part of the group Mixed Nuts. Sheena Plouffe and Caroline Holley were over on the other side of the gym answering phones. Victoria Slight and Julia Rowat, both of the student council, were on camera making a donation of a weight of coinage to the cause, having collected pocket change throughout the week to add to the cause. The live camera shot changes, and boom, there’s Doug Miller hosting a segment of the show, and a little later, making a presentation of a cheque on behalf of the local Junior B hockey team. Behind him, ten year-old Avery Jones teams up with MY-FM radio personalities to post angel donations of $100.00 or more to the Angel Board. And as we prepared to leave, another wave of SJCHS community members were entering the auditorium, in their turn to take up positions of contribution, as either performers, volunteers, or both.
The telethon, several hours in length, was broadcast live on Cogeco Television, and for a period of time on Renfrew’s MY-FM Radio. A thoroughly professional affair, the entire enterprise, and those who volunteered in some way to be a part of it, stand as proof of a caring community, both in Renfrew as a whole, and at St. Joseph’s.
