It's a big day for the Estevan United Way as they begin their annual Telethon which runs for 33 straight hours.

"I think it will be a good year," shares President Patrick Fisher. "Estevan is a great community, they always come, they support us very well. I'm looking forward to seeing the community come out and support us again."

He added that the goal of this year's Telethon is $325,000.

"All the money that we raise through the Telethon and throughput the year goes towards our 15 Member Agencies and our two Community Impact Projects. Our board takes a lot of pride that 86 cents on the dollar goes to the agencies which is a huge stat. And all our member agencies, the money we raise for them, stays in the community of Estevan. And that's really important."

He noted that without many of these agencies, some community members would have to travel or move to larger centres to receive the care they need. 

"It helps people in our community and more importantly in a lot of cases too, for a lot of people who have disabilities and need some help in their day to day life, it keeps them in Estevan and I think that's really important."

The entertainment this year is a wide range of acts.

"We've got a lot of the schools coming in, doing some singing, doing some performances. Later in the evening we've got dancers coming in. We've got Princess Patricia Pipe Band. And then Saturday afternoon, our closing band is The Way. They've preformed a couple years for us before. They should bring a lot of energy into the hall."

He added that the concession will be open and available to those who visit the Legion hall during the Telethon. 

Those wanting to donate can do so in a variety of ways.

"People can phone 306-340-4625 (GOAL). As well, they can come down to the hall and make a donation in person. As well too, if they go onto our website, they can also donate through PayPal."

There will be a live-stream of the Telethon on their website. It will also be televised through Access and there will be regular updates on Rock 106, Sun 102 and CJ1150 throughout the Telethon.