A Reason To Be Proud

A Reason to be Proud
June Morgan
Editor of the Maynard Beacon

You don't read many newspaper stories about teens being good citizens, about young people putting themselves out to benefit others.

Rarer still is a story about the achievements of a group of teenagers that turns out to be the biggest and best news story of the week.

But that's what you have here in Maynard. The teens are the 115 WAVM telethon volunteers who spent 40 hours camped out in the high school last weekend working on the annual WAVM Beacon Santa Telethon.

They had one thing on their mind - making sure that the efforts of the past several weeks would pay off and they would join the ranks of other legendary WAVM telethon teams, teams that rewrite the book every year about just how much money a bunch of high school kids can raise for charity.

This year the telethon workers raised a cool $29,625 for Beacon Santa, thousands of dollars more than any telethon before them.

By anybody's definition, that's a lot of money. Over the years, the WAVM telethon has become the single biggest contributor to the Beacon Santa fund which this year distributed $55,000 to hundreds of area families. That this money was raised by a group of high school kids with no special fundraising skills is nothing short of amazing.

But behind this achievement is the story of a can-do attitude, great organization, an army of supportive parents and teachers and a profound belief that it was all possible. It's a spirit of pride that began on Tiger Drive and rippled in concentric circles outward until it encompassed a whole town.

The spunky group of volunteers made sure that everyone in Maynard knew about the telethon and had the opportunity to contribute. They sold reams of $1 raffle tickets; they buttonholed businesses to contribute auction itesm, and during the telethon their smiling faces and enthusiasism brought viewers to the phones to buy and donate.

No endeavor of this magnitude, however, could succeed without a guiding force and for the telethon, that presence is Joe Magno. Magno's dedication to the telethon and its young workers is only matched by the total trust and respect they give him. It's a mutual admiration society all around and Maynard is truly fortunate to have him in its corner.

Also a tip of the hat to Cablevision for honoring its commitment to provide equipment and manpower, despite the fact that all its work crews were working around the clock to repair damage from the previous weekend's storm. It had a perfect excuse to renege on its agreement, but it didn't take it.

That the telethon brought out the best in everyone and everything it touched, is only part of the story. It's also about wonderful memories that will stay with these teens for years to come and the knowledge that when you're determined and your cause is right, just about anything is possible.

Congratulations on a job well done.

Reprinted with permission of Maynard Beacon

Return to the 1996 Beacon Santa Telethon