It's almost a rite of passage in Estevan - preforming at the annual Telethon. Nearly every child who has gone through the school system will remember lining up eagerly awaiting their time to cross that stage to be introduced. Sometimes there's nerves, but it's always a fun time showcasing your talents in support of a worthy cause.

Once again, schools from across Estevan, Bienfait and Macoun loaded students into buses and brought them down to the Estevan Legion hall to preform in front of parents, grandparents, members of the community and viewers at home. 

This year, students brought in approximately $10,000 to support the United Way and their 15 Member Agencies.

"We always come to the United Way Telethon," shared Principal of Westview School, Cheri Haberstock. "It's very, very important. We feel that it is such an important initiative in our community to raise money for all the member agencies and we just love to represent our school at this important event."

They may be one of the smaller schools, but they make up for it with spirit. 

"We brought our Junior Choir, which is our grade 2-5 students who love to sing and our grade 6-8 students, out senior choir as well."

"We brought $3,700 for the United Way. We raised that through our dance-a-thon at our school. All of our students participated. We are glad to do it. Our school community really steps up and supports this because they understand how important this is for our community."

Other school totals, raised through a variety of simple and clever fundraisers like "Hat Day" and "Float Day", contributed to the generosity. Sacred Heart School raised $2,500, Pleasantdale School handed over a cheque of $569, as well as donations (amounts unconfirmed at this time) from Spruce Ridge, Hillcrest, St. Mary's, Macoun School, Weldon School and the Estevan Comprehensive School.

The Telethon continues til 5 pm Saturday evening.