With Plum School District’s Make-A-Wish telethon closing in on a lifetime collection of $1 million, high school teacher Rick Berrott was being cautious.
It would be OK if they came up short, Berrott said, because whatever money they raised would go to a good cause.
His caution proved to be unnecessary, as the 21st annual telethon’s collection this year not only got them to $1 million, it took them right past it.
The telethon needed $42,000 to reach the milestone. It took in $73,138, for a total of $1,031,188 since the first was held in 1999.
That blew the top off their thermometer, which was capped at $50,000.
“It’s awesome,” said Berrott, a television production teacher and co-sponsor of the National Honor Society. “It’s a nice goal to achieve. That the district and the community have donated more than $1 million in 21 years is outstanding.”
Honor Society students oversee the fundraising, while TV production students stage the telethon. It was held on the last day of classes before the Christmas break.
The collection included about $30,560 from Holiday Park, Center and Pivik elementary schools and Oblock Junior High.
To get the telethon off to a good start, and inspire others to donate, Spitzer Toyota of Monroeville gave $18,500. While not the dealership’s first contribution to the district, it is its first to the telethon, general Manager Robert Thomasson said.
“Make-A-Wish is an amazing organization and easy for us to support,” he said.
Senior Trystan Auth interviewed Stephanie Pugliese, director of development for Make-A-Wish of Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia, during the telethon. It was the first telethon Pugliese has been able to attend.
“It’s amazing to see how the kids are so enthusiastic and excited about doing this,” she said. “I’m very impressed with the whole setup. It’s so professional and the kids are so professional and mature.
“This is the top of the line,” she said. “These students know what they are doing. They’ve learned a lot from this class.”
The telethon’s $1 million collection since 1999 — with 2020 skipped because of the covid pandemic — is incredible, Pugliese said.
“We’re thrilled. I’m kind of speechless. We had a feeling they would,” she said. “That the community came forward and wants to help is pretty great. The community of Plum is backing their students.”
The average cost of a wish — $4,400 — is based on the cost of a trip to Disney World, Pugliese said. Some wishes cost more, others less. The $1 million raised by Plum’s telethon is enough to pay for 227 wishes.
Pugliese said 86 cents of every dollar donated goes to wishes.
“The more money that can be raised the more wishes we can fund,” she said. “We never want to turn away a family due to lack of funds.”
Bob and Jamie Hendry, of Plum, attended the telethon with their children, Brylee, 16, and Emerson, 14. Emerson had a wish fulfilled in October 2019 after he was diagnosed with cancer in February that year.
Bob Hendry said the wish gave the family something to look forward to after Emerson went through several devastating rounds of aggressive chemotherapy. Emerson’s wish included a Pittsburgh sports themed makeover of his bedroom and attending a Penguins game in Sidney Crosby’s suite.
“You take things for granted,” Bob Hendry said. “You never know who is going to need that support.”
They were inspired by the telethon’s success.
“You realize what a great community you are from,” Jamie Hendry said.
Reaching $1 million says tremendous things about the school and its community, Superintendent Brendan Hyland said.
“I could not be more proud of our community, our staff and most importantly our kids,” he said.
