Telethon is Coming to New Plymouth!

New Plymouth has the chance to show its fundraising muscle as part of The Big Night In Telethon next month.

The Air New Zealand Challenge Mini-Telethon will be broadcast live on Sunday 9 August from New Plymouth, Whangarei and Invercargill as the three cities try to raise as much money as possible for the KidsCan StandTall Charitable Trust.

New Plymouth’s broadcast will be from the Spiegeltent – the showpiece of the Taranaki International Festival of the Arts – and the adjacent Taranaki House building.

“We wanted a vibrant location that would really catch the eye on TV, and we couldn’t have done any better than the Spiegeltent,” says NPDC Manager Events Melissa Devine-Collins.

The challenge now is for Taranaki residents to fundraise money for the mini-Telethon.

“We’re putting the call out to community groups, businesses, families and individuals to come up with their own fundraising efforts between now and 9 August, so they can deliver the money they’ve raised during the broadcast at the Spiegeltent,” says Mrs Devine-Collins.

“Alternatively, they can run a fundraising activity at the broadcast site on the day or just take part in the fun at the Spiegeltent.

“One of the activities is the Air New Zealand koru competition, where we make a large koru out of coins and notes.”

All fundraising activities should be registered with NPDC – phone us on 06-759 6060 or email enquiries@npdc.govt.nz.

The KidsCan StandTall charitable trust supports a number of schools in Taranaki and around the country by providing students with raincoats, shoes and food, as well as the StandTall inspiration programme.

The main Telethon will be broadcast out of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch on 8 and 9 August. There will be at least four live crosses to the New Plymouth, Invercargill and Whangarei mini-Telethons during the show.