Massena Knights Ready To Help "Jerry's Kids"
MASSENA - Members of the Massena Knights of Columbus will be at it once again this weekend, on the street and on the phones, raising money for "Jerry's Kids."
The K of C will be fundraising for the 45th annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, which benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The Massena numbers to call for the event are 705-5001 and 705-5058. The telethon, which will be broadcast on WWNY, runs from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday evening and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Labor Day. Those wanting to donate can also stop by the Knights of Columbus at 53 E. Orvis St. during telethon hours to make a donation. Donations made in Massena will stay in the north country.
It's been nearly 25 years of fundraising for K of C members. The Massena chapter first stepped up to raise money for the telethon back in 1986.
"It's kind of a tradition with us," former chairman Kenneth D. Kirkey, 87, said. "When you talk MDA telethon and Massena, you talk the Knights of Columbus."
The Massena chapter has made the telethon its main fundraiser of the year, Mr. Kirkey said. There are already dozens of members of the Knights of Columbus, K of C Ladies' Auxiliary and others signed up to help on Sunday night and Monday, Mr. Kirkey said. The best thing everyone else can do now, he said, is make a donation to help find a cure for the debilitating disorders that cause muscle weakness and loss of muscle tissue.
"We believe some day they will have a cure," he said. "They have taken care of some of it but they haven't found a cure for it."
Some K of C members have been raising money for weeks. Rod D. Charleston said he was surprised he has been able to raise $3,000 so far, including $1,000 from Donaldson Funeral Home.
"These are bad times for the economy," Mr. Charleston said. "I have had no refusals so far."
Mr. Charleston, 77, has been collecting for the telethon for about ten years. He can't get around like he used to, so he makes phone calls to collect instead.
"When they hear my voice, they know what it's about," he said.
Mr. Charleston's fundraising talents came from 35 years of bartending, he said.
"I have the gift of gab, believe me," he said.
Mr. Kirkey was chairman for the telethon from 1996 through last year. This year, Norman "Pete" LaFrance took over s chairman.
"We've probably got a lot of the same ones from 14 years ago working the same shift," said Mr. Kirkey of the K of C volunteers.
The people of Massena have never disappointed in the telethon, Mr. Kirkey said.
"It's just tremendous, the response we get from the community," he said. "It doesn't seem to bother, the fact that the economy's down. They still open their hearts and their pocketbooks and donate to it."
