Student-led telethon raises record amount for families in need

Fox Chapel Area School District students held their 32nd annual telethon December 23, 2021, and raised a record-breaking total of $107,146. This year’s total brings the money raised by Fox Chapel Area students and staff to more than $1,025,532 over the last 32 years for various local and regional charities.

The telethon raised money for Fox Families Care and involved students from all six schools in the Fox Chapel Area School District (Fairview, Hartwood, Kerr, and O’Hara elementaries; Dorseyville Middle School; and Fox Chapel Area High School).

The telethon was coordinated by the Fox Chapel Area High School Student Government and the digital media production students of the high school who plan and produce the event. The telethon was streamed live on the Swift Fox Media YouTube Channel and can be watched any time at https://youtu.be/2-9ye0Nub2w.

Fox Families Care is an organization that works to bridge the gap between the needs and resources of children and families in the Fox Chapel Area School District. The group invests in the needs of local children and works directly with the district in conjunction with other strategic community partners.

Donations this year were generously matched through December 23 by JENNMAR, Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale, and the Cleveland Family Foundation. Additionally, Second Harvest Community Thrift Store in Sharpsburg presented Fox Families Care with the Patsy Grable Burke Memorial Grant in the amount of $10,000.

The last time the telethon raised a record-breaking total was in 2016 with an amount of $71,837 for the LiveLikeLou Foundation.