Telethon
The Telethon or Telemarathon is a televised charity event, in which various artistic and entertainment presentations are interspersed that are currently taking place in different countries in order to raise Funds for various social causes. The first known telethon took place in 1949, in New York City, in the United States, at the initiative of Milton Berle, raising US$ 1.1 million for the Damon Runyon Cancer Fighting Foundation during a 16-hour day. The word Telethon appeared the following day in the newspapers of the largest American city.
The popularization of the campaign came with the Telethon made by Jerry Lewis on Labor Day, the entire first weekend of September, between 1966 and 2010, to help the rehabilitation of people with muscular dystrophy, being from 1970 the first National Telethon, broadcasting throughout the United States.
The first Latin American Telethon was organized in Chile, in December 1978, by the Chilean television presenter Mario Kreutzberger Blumenfeld. Later, the idea would be exported to the rest of America, being held in various countries to date. The format reached Oceania in 1957, then it reached Asia in 1978 and then it reached Europe in 1980. Telethons have not yet been held in Africa.
Most of the Latin American telethons are currently associated with the International Telethon Organization, which has twelve members, which are Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay. Other countries also hold very similar events, such as Germany, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, China, Ecuador, Spain, the Philippines, France, Haiti, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Panama, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic, Russia, Venezuela, among others. but on the other hand, in several countries such as Mexico, Chile, and mainly Colombia, there is some controversy regarding companies, entertainers and television channels, because they are accused of using part of the money collected to avoid paying taxes Since the donations law allows money donated by private entities not to be declared as contributions to the state, so this type of event is not always viewed positively by the entire population, and there is some controversy over some percentages that are used for operational expenses of the show presented in the so-called solidarity crusade.
Oritel telethons
The International Telethon Organization (Oritel) is an institution created in 1998 by the telethons of Brazil, Chile and Mexico, with the objective of supporting and strengthening its network of member countries with actions and programs that contribute to improve the quality of rehabilitation and inclusion services provided to people with disabilities. In 2012, with the withdrawal of Brazil from the organization and with 12 active countries, it signed a Letter of Intent with the Organization of American States, and in 2017 it became an institution linked to the supranational entity with the signing of a Framework of Cooperation. Oritel's headquarters are in Miami, but its current president is Martin Fariña von Buchwald, also president of the Teletón de Perú and partner of the investment company LXG Capital.
Currently, Oritel's comprehensive coverage system is comprised of 12 countries, 69 Rehabilitation Centers or Institutes and Therapeutic Support Units, a cancer hospital (HITO in Querétaro, Mexico) and more than 350,000 people attended per year.Most of the users of the Network centers have a neuromusculoskeletal disability, although autism and other cognitive and developmental disorders are contemplated in the rehabilitation model of some countries. These models seek to always be in accordance with the Pan American and World Health Organizations. In addition, all the countries of the Network go through the internal and external audit of Oritel, so that the correct use of the funds donated by the local population of each country is guaranteed at a continental level. The Oritel Network telethons in 2022 raised just over US$ 90 million.
Chile
The first Latin American version of Teletón was held between December 8 and 9, 1978 in Chile. Mario Kreutzberger Blumenfeld, inspired by Jerry Lewis's project in the United States, brought the idea to the country of him sponsoring the Society for Aid to Crippled Children. Despite the tense political situation in the country, and as a result of the existing military dictatorship, and with the proximity of a possible armed conflict with Argentina, he brought together all the country's television channels to broadcast for 27 consecutive hours the event that sought to raise $33,790,000 Chilean pesos of the time. The first Telethon raised $84,361,838, easily exceeding the goal.
The Telethon would be repeated annually until 1982. Although at first it was thought of holding only five telethons, the resounding success of the event, and the growing demand for rehabilitation centers, forced the Telethon to continue since 1985, until today, taking place at the end of November or the beginning of December of each year, with the exception of eight years in which there were parliamentary or presidential elections and the foundation decided not to hold the event. The Chilean Telethon has been held 33 times since 1978, raising a total of more than US$800 million.
The only Telethon that did not meet its goal was in 1995, when it tried to double the collection of the previous year, but despite this it was not considered a greater failure than the 2003 edition, when the goal was seriously endangered, about to have to receive help from the State to achieve it. The money raised has allowed the construction and maintenance of 14 Teletón rehabilitation centers throughout the country: Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta, Calama, Copiapó, Coquimbo, Valparaíso, Santiago, Talca, Concepción, Temuco, Puerto Montt, Coyhaique and Valdivia. Two other institutes are under construction in the cities of Chillán and Rancagua.
In the year 2022, the charity campaign was held on November 4 and 5, with the motto It does us all good, every day, and a few weeks before the dates based on the Men's Soccer World Cup. The 28-hour day passed normally for the first time in four years, with massive attendance at the Teletón Theater and the closing round at the National Stadium. The goal was $35,248,655,075, achieved with the final figure on the screen of $37,327,475,057 (US$ 40,132,754). The seven national television networks (La Red, Telecanal, TV+, Mega, Chilevisión, Canal 13 and TVN), the regional channels associated with Arcatel, the radio stations affiliated with Archi, and most of the national radio stations broadcast the campaign.
Another Telethon that takes place in the country is held annually in the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region, under the name of Jornadas por la Rehabilitación en Magallanes, organized by the local Lions Club since 1987, which raised $1,284,108,904 in 2022, to maintain the three rehabilitation centers that exist in the region. Additionally, on some occasions, special events have been held due to high-impact catastrophes: Chile helps Chile, made to raise funds after the earthquakes of 1985 and 2010; and Vamos Chilenos, with the aim of financing the Conecta Mayor Foundation, which delivered adapted smartphones to 80,000 people over 80 years of age who do not have access to technology to communicate with State entities and their families and friends, in addition to distributing baskets for the elderly in extreme poverty during the COVID pandemic in 2020.
Columbia
Its first campaign was carried out in 1980 and broadcast in color through Inravisión, under the slogan It's a matter of humanity. The proposed goal for that occasion was $50,000,000, a figure that was widely exceeded with $102,357,243. The event was held consecutively until 1995. The Telethon was promoted by the presenter Carlos Pinzón, which had as great fruit the creation of the Clínica Universitaria Teletón, which was sold by the foundation in 2009 and is now managed by the University of La Sabana in Chía. With the money from the sale, the Manizales rehabilitation center was built. After 15 years without being made, it returned in 2010, being broadcast on December 17 and 18 on the Caracol and RCN channels under the slogan "When you move, Colombia moves" and a goal of $8 billion. The goal was exceeded by collecting $14,501,639,230 and an additional $11,023,862,946 for those affected by the winter in that country. With the money from the 2010 and 2011 telethons, they built plus three rehabilitation centers in Soacha, Barranquilla and Cartagena.
The 2018 edition of the event was held on February 23 and 24, with a goal of $7,605,011,200, and broadcast by Caracol, RCN, Channel 1 and Red+, in addition to 600 radio stations. The continuous criticism of the event added to the financial and political crisis in the country meant that the goal was not reached for the third consecutive year. The last calculation after almost 28 hours of the program was $5,365,892,607 (US$1,865,099). The foundation guaranteed that for the proceeds, in addition to canceling the rehabilitation center project in Bogotá, it would close at least one rehabilitation center for not being able to maintain four rehabilitation centers without the help of the State and with so few resources. What happened was even worse than announced. In March Teletón closed its doors in Cartagena, and in May it closed its center in Barranquilla, keeping only the centers in Manizales and Soacha. In July an assembly was held to decide if the two remaining centers would be closed, founding the operations of Teletón in Colombia, but the decision was to continue with the operation of the centers.
On February 13, 2019, the newspaper El Tiempo announced the merger of the Foundation with the Roosevelt Institute, which is also a non-profit entity. Days later, on March 11, the newscast of CM&, veiculated by Channel 1, confirmed that the agreement would be formalized on the 21st of that month. The merger adds two new rehabilitation centers to the foundation, and integrates Teletón to the SGSSS, the Colombian public health system, in addition to quadruple the structure it had and begin to care for children with mental disabilities and neurological diseases, in addition to people with physical disabilities. As bad data, the Institute had to assume the entire deficit of Teletón, which at the end of 2018 reached $5,611 million. On July 30, 2020, the foundation announced the closure of the Manizales rehabilitation center, concentrating all its operations in Greater Bogotá.
On November 1, 2021, the foundation announced the return of the television event, which consisted of a 75-minute special broadcast on the night of Wednesday, December 8, through the channels Caracol, RCN, Canal 1, Señal Colombia and Canal Institucional on open TV, and Red+ on Claro TV. The goal was to care for 22,000 new patients in this system, which has already housed almost 400,000 people. This year there were no counts during this special, and the collection continues until the end of the month, by 2022 there will be a return of counts and a new goal raised to build rehabilitation centers.
El Salvador
In El Salvador, the Teletón was born in 1982, and became the second Central American country, and the fifth country in Latin America after Chile, to adopt this concept to help children with disabilities. Thus, the Fundación Teletón Pro Rehabilitación (Funter) was created, which currently has three rehabilitation centers, located in San Salvador, San Vicente and Sonsonate, which serve 7,300 people with physical or motor disabilities. The three centers were built to from 2003, when the new stage of Teletón began, since the campaign had a break from 1998 to 2003 due to the change of the Salvadoran colon to the dollar and the El Salvador earthquakes of 2001. The first stage of this campaign (1982 to 1987) built three rehabilitation centers in the cities of San Salvador, Santa Ana and San Miguel, which have been operated by the Salvadoran Institute for Comprehensive Rehabilitation (ISRI) since its inauguration. Between 1990 and 1998, the current center of San Salvador de Funter, in Merliot, was built and maintained.
In 2022, the event was held on September 30 and October 1, at the Merliot Rehabilitation Center, through the TCS and RSM channels; in addition to Ágape TV, ON TV and tele1; together with more than 100 radio stations. The event that celebrated the 40th anniversary of the campaign in the country was separated into three blocks, with 20 hours of programming, and once again no fundraising goal was set. A total of US$1,148,920 was raised at the end of the broadcast, just over 10% above the amount raised in the previous campaign. However, the record collection was in 2017, when almost US$1.9 million was achieved.
United States (Latino Community)
El TeletónUSA, from Teletón México, is an event that since 2012, broadcast by Univision Communications, raises funds for children with disabilities in the United States. With the first two telethons, it was possible to build a modern rehabilitation center in San Antonio (Texas), which currently serves 500 children and young people with physical disabilities. The 2022 marathon was held on December 17, with 17 hours of programming broadcast from the Univision studios in Miami and the CRIT in San Antonio. The goal for the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the campaign was US$ 6,323,162, hardly exceeded with the collection of US$ 6,379,218. However, the collection record was in 2016, when just over $15.7 million.
Guatemala
In Guatemala, the first Telethon was held in 1986, for the benefit of people with physical disabilities. It was organized by a group of people who in that same year gave life to Fundabiem, an entity that inaugurated the first rehabilitation center in 1989. Year after year the Telethon has been carried out, being broadcast until 2019 by the Albavisión media in the country together with radio stations and regional channels from other communication groups. Fundabiem currently has 13,000 active users, to whom it provided almost 400,000 rehabilitation services, 76,000 transportation services, and 39,000 spare parts in 2019. Fundabiem currently has nine rehabilitation centers in the cities of Mixco, Chimaltenango, Chiquimula, Cobán, Mazatenango, Retalhuleu, Escuintla, Quetzaltenango and Coatepeque; 10 rehabilitation clinics in the cities of Santa Rosa de Lima, San Marcos, Tecún Umán, Ayutla, San Marcos, Malacatán, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Puerto Barrios, Panajachel, Huehuetenango, Flores and Salamá; two rehabilitation posts in Morales and Asunción Mita; and the Casa Hogar Niño de Praga in Guatemala City.
The 2021 edition of the Telethon would be held in November, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was postponed to April 1 and 2, 2022. The campaign celebrated its 35th anniversary with a 28.5-hour marathon Broadcast on channels 3, 11, Guatevisión and TV Nuevo Mundo in open signal, Canal Antigua in pay signal and Telecentro for the Latino community in the United States, in addition to Albavisión and Radio Nuevo Mundo. The event was broadcast from five locations: the Majadas Forum and the studios of Guatevisión, Canal Antigua, Albavisión and TV Nuevo Mundo. At the end of the event, the goal of Q 16,295,000 was surpassed with the final figure of Q 18,518,958 (US$ 2,406,715). The campaign collection record was in 2019, when Q 27.3 million were achieved. The 2023 edition of the campaign will have the slogan "Fools of Heart", and will be held on June 2 and 3 with the transmission being, for the first time, centralized in the interior of the country, in the city of Old Guatemala.
Honduras
In Honduras, the first Telethon event was held in 1987 at the initiative of businessman José Rafael Ferrari. Fundación Teletón has six rehabilitation centers open in the cities of Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Santa Rosa de Copán, Choluteca, Catacamas and La Esperanza, as well as three community rehabilitation units in Choloma, Santa Bárbara and Coyoles Central that together have more than 25 thousand active users. The 2022 edition of the event was held on December 9 and 10 under the “35 Years Approaching” campaign, returning to the Instituto Salesiano San Miguel after two years of being held behind closed doors due to the pandemic. It was televised by the channels of the Televicentro Corporation (Channel 5, TSi, Telecadena and Mega), in conjunction with TEN TV, Channel 8 and a large number of regional channels nationwide, in addition to the HRN and Radio Satélite stations of Emisoras Unidas. on the radio. For the first time in the event's history, the national transmission was linked to the different mini-teletons held in various parts of the country. Something that until then was exclusive to regional channels and stations. The goal set for this edition was 70 million lempiras. Despite how slowly it rose, the final figure reached L.70,315,050 (US$2,835,284) after 27 hours of broadcasting, tying the figure reached in 2019.
Mexico
Produced by Televisa in association with more than 700 communication media and leading companies in the Hispanic market, the Mexican Teletón is in charge of the operation and construction of rehabilitation centers for minors with disabilities, cancer and autism. In Mexico, there are 22 Child Rehabilitation Centers (CRIT): two in the State of Mexico (one in Tlalnepantla de Baz and another in Nezahualcóyotl), Morelia, Michoacán, Guadalajara, Oaxaca, Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Baja California Sur, Durango, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Chihuahua, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Tamaulipas, Sonora, Veracruz, Puebla, Mexico City, Baja California and Guerrero. Together, these centers cared for 24,009 children in 2019. In addition, Teletón has the HITO in Querétaro, one of the three cancer hospitals in the world dedicated exclusively to childhood cancer, with 351 active children, and an autism center (CAT) in Ecatepec, with 177 active children.
In 2005, a special telethon was held to raise funds for those affected by Hurricane Wilma, one of the biggest catastrophes in recent times in Latin America. On that occasion, the Telethon raised more than $100 million (US$9.2 million at the time). In 2017 they also had all their donation channels available to raise funds for the victims of the 2017 Mexico Earthquakes, raising $34,075,742.
In 2022, the Teletón celebrated its 25th anniversary with the annual event taking place on Saturday, December 17. The 17-hour marathon was broadcast from Televisa San Ángel, with its closing block done for the first time from the Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium. The goal of $387,733,463 was surpassed by a good margin, with the final figure of $410,473,714 (US$ 20,717,393),which will make it possible that after eight years without the construction of new CRITs, the growth of the system Teletón is resumed, with the construction of rehabilitation centers in Mazatlán, Sinaloa; and Tlapa, Guerrero. However, the grossing record was set in 2014, when $474 million was raised.
Nicaragua
In Nicaragua, the Teletón has been organized since 2001 thanks to the initiative of members of civil society, who together with Club Activo 20-30 Managua and the Los Pipitos association (until 2017) make up the Teletón Foundation; joining the project recognized and respectable personalities of the country, who voluntarily acquired the commitment to undertake the campaign. In Nicaragua there are three Teletón rehabilitation centers, in the cities of Chinandega, Juigalpa and Ocotal, which since 2019 have only been operating with half their capacity due to the crisis that the country has been experiencing since 2018. Anecdotally, the event in Nicaragua is the only one in the continent to be held on a Friday, from morning until around midnight.
In 2023, the event was held on March 10, being broadcast on channels 10, 11, VosTV and CDNN from the Crowne Plaza Convention Center in Managua under the slogan "Uniendo Propositos". For the third year in a row, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no specific goal was requested. At the end of the 16 hours of the program, the last calculation reached C$ 9,314,598.97 (US$ 251,745), slightly exceeding the amount collected in the previous year. However, the collection record was in 2017, where they achieved just over C$ 27 million.
Paraguay
The Fundación Teletón Paraguay, (Until 2007, Fundación Apadem - Teletón), is a private non-profit organization that has provided services to children and adolescents from 0 to 18 years of age with physical disabilities since 1979. It has four rehabilitation centers in the cities of Asunción, Coronel Oviedo, Minga Guazú and Paraguarí which, together, currently serve 1,600 users.
Although the Teletón was founded in 1979, its first campaign was carried out in 1982 under the initiative of Humberto Rubín, who was prevented by the dictator Alfredo Stroessner from conducting the campaign, passing the baton to the communicator Charles González Palisa, in a broadcast organized and broadcast by channels 9 and 13, the only two existing channels at that time in the country.
The event would then be held 23 more times. However, at the beginning of the 2000s, the Teletón began to be questioned by society due to the existing corruption within the foundation, since they supported dozens of lawsuits and embargoes for million-dollar sums of money. All this generated mistrust on the part of society. That is why the Telethon was not held in 2006 and 2007, being the last Telethon of the old stage held in 2005. In 2007 with the change of dozens of foundation officials and in 2008 the solidarity event was held again.
In 2022, the Telethon was held on November 4 and 5, with the motto Let's turn the game around and the goal of ₲10.5 billion. The 28-hour program was carried out from the Mariscal Complex, being broadcast by Telefuturo, SNT, Trece, La Tele, Unicanal, Paravisión, C9N, Noticias PY and Sur Televisora Itapúa. The last calculation on the screen achieved the goal after two years without exceeding the proposed objective, reaching the sum of ₲ 11,018,712,392 (US$ 1,524,619), which makes it possible to reopen the rehabilitation center in Paraguarí after a year and a half closed due to lack of resources. The final collection, published on November 18, reached ₲ 11,522,813,621. The record collection was in 2016, when ₲ 15,631 million was achieved.
Peru
The Peruvian Telethon has been held since 1981 to support the children of the Hogar Clínica San Juan de Dios, which today has six clinics in the country, as well as a rehabilitation institute in Piura, a special school in Arequipa and a hotel in Cusco, which currently serve more than 2,200 children and adolescents with physical disabilities. Under the direction of Ricardo Belmont, who traveled to Chile a year earlier during the Third Telethon in that country, which was taken as an example, the first edition of the campaign far exceeded its goal of US$1 million. The first three editions were carried out on Panamericana Televisión and then two on América Televisión, always counting on the collaboration of artists and characters from almost all open signal channels in Peru. It was very successful from the first year until 1986, when in that country it was also believed that the fifth campaign would be the last. That Telethon was originally scheduled for December 1985, but due to the closeness of the dates with the telethon organized by Pilar Nores in favor of the Fundación por los Niños del Perú, it was postponed to January 31 and February 1.
However, due to the constant shortage of funds caused by inflation, Belmont was forced to resume the event through his RBC Television channel in December 1987, thus initiating the second stage of the solidarity campaign. Then in 1989 and in 1990 it would be held again in Panamericana with great success. Later a couple of times on ATV (the 1991 edition was successful but the 1992 edition failed to reach the goal for the first time) and closing this second stage in 1993 when the last event under this name was held in America. In 2003 the event was relaunched again. The Teletón was developed by Panamericana, seeking a goal of US$ 1 million. This goal was reached with many problems, which would continue the following year when the US$2 million goal was not met. In 2005, President Alejandro Toledo decorated Ricardo Belmont for his work at the head of the Peruvian Teletón for 24 years, after which Belmont announced his retirement from the organization of the campaign.
The non-performance of the event in 2007 due to the earthquake in Pisco generated a serious crisis in the Hogar Clínica San Juan de Dios, raising questions about its continuity during 2008. Given this situation, the government of Alan García decided to head urgently a special Telethon, which was held on Sunday, December 21, in front of the Government Palace and was televised live for the first time in the country by all the open-signal Peruvian television channels. The event, despite having been organized in In just ten days, it was very successful, surprisingly managing to raise some S/ 10 million, more than triple what was originally expected. After the event was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 edition of the marathon, which celebrated its 40th anniversary and the Bicentennial of Peru, took place on November 6, with its duration shortened from 23 to 11 hours. The transmission was made by América, ATV, Global, Latina and Panamericana, in addition to the radios belonging to CRP and RPP. Due to the pandemic, no specific goal was set, and its effects, which were especially devastating in Peru, meant that the collection reached only S/ 6,004,614 (US$ 1,497,410), just under half of what was collected in the last campaign, carried out in 2019, when the record of just over S/ 12.5 million was collected.
Puerto Rico
The Caribbean island held its first telethons in the 1970s, joining the Cadena del Amor of the Jerry Lewis Telethon. Until the last edition of the campaign in 2010, Telemundo de Puerto Rico was the station responsible for the collection of the island to the Muscular Dystrophy Association of the United States (MDA). Even one of the MDA users in Puerto Rico was one of the life stories of Teletón 1980 in Chile. In 2011, the SER foundation of Puerto Rico affiliated with Oritel and obtained the rights to the Teletón brand on the island. SER has three rehabilitation centers, in the cities of San Juan, Ponce and Ceiba, which together serve more than 6,000 people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities and autism. The foundation was already doing its telethon annually since 1975.
The 2022 edition of the event took place on August 28, in a four-hour broadcast made from the Coliseo de Puerto Rico. The goal was US$ 2,172,362, comfortably achieved with the final figure of US$ 3,001,121, which also meant the breaking of the historical record for the campaign, made in 2017. The program was broadcast by Teleonce, Telemundo, WIPR, Wapa, ABC Puerto Rico, Tele Oro and Mega TV in Puerto Rico; Wapa América for the United States and channel 85 of Liberty on pay TV.
Uruguay
The first Teletón in Uruguay was held in 2003. The Teletón Foundation was established in order to work to make possible the creation, operation and maintenance of two rehabilitation centers in the cities of Montevideo and Fray Bentos, which currently serve 1,600 children and young people with physical disabilities. In 2022, the Teletón was held on November 4 and 5 on channels 4, 5, 10, Teledoce and La Red, for almost 25 hours, and broadcast from the Canal 10 studios, closing at the Moviecenter Theater. The goal was $U 132,564,726, surpassed with the last calculation of $U 136,522,879 (US$ 3,385,984) collected in total, which surpassed the campaign's collection record, made in 2015, when $U 133.5 million.
Another solidarity campaign is taking place in the country, the Together for Children, which began in 2002 in an alliance between Unicef and Channel 10, inspired by the campaigns Un Sol para los Chicos from Argentina and Criança Esperança (Niño Esperanza) from Brazil. The campaign raises funds for Unicef projects in the country and in the world. The six and a half hour marathon, which took place on May 21 in 2022, celebrated its 20th anniversary and was broadcast by the same channels that broadcast the Telethon. The goal of $U 30 million was achieved with the figure of $U 30,212,000 (US$ 755,300).
Other Telethons
Argentina
The first Argentine telethon took place on May 8 and 9, 1982 in the context of the Malvinas War. The program Las 24 horas de las Malvinas was broadcast by the then ATC (today TV Pública), and its objective was to raise funds for the combatants who were on the islands. The marathon was broadcast internationally, in fragments or in its entirety, by the Band of Brazil (with simultaneous translation in Portuguese), Tele4 (today Teleamazonas) of Ecuador, the two TVE networks of Spain, SIN (today Univision) of the United States United, the Televisa channels in Mexico, SNT in Paraguay, Panamericana in Peru, Channel 4 in Uruguay, and the Venevisión and RCTV networks in Venezuela. At the end of the broadcast, $22,874,769,000 (US$1,628,097) was collected, an amount much higher than expected, but far below what is necessary for effective financial support for Argentine soldiers. In addition, the destination of the funds is questioned to this day, since the money was transferred to a state fund, created by decree of the dictatorship of the time, and not to a non-profit foundation.
From 1992 to the present, the Un sol para los chicos program has been carried out, inspired by Criança Esperança (Niño Esperanza) from Brazil. The first edition was carried out with the five open TV channels in the country united, but from the following year the program would be produced and broadcast only by eltrece, with the support of the rest of the Grupo Clarín companies. The campaign aims to raise funds for Unicef, and in recent years it has been held on the eve of Children's Day, which is celebrated in Argentina every second Sunday in August. In 2022, however, the special was held on Saturday, September 3, with a goal of $215,970,245 and a six-hour program. The campaign, which celebrated its 30th anniversary, ended with the collection of $331,250,573 (US$2,380,186), greatly exceeding its goals.
In July 2019, the implementation of a solidarity campaign similar to the one carried out in Chile was announced. The rights to use the name Teletón were granted to Dr. Juan Carlos Couto, a neuro-orthopedic doctor at FLENI, who owns two rehabilitation centers in Greater Buenos Aires. It is still undefined when the Telethon will take place.
Australia
The most successful telethon in the world is held annually in Australia. Annually, since 1968, the Perth station of the Seven chain organizes a 26-hour Telethon in the state of Western Australia, raising money for the Princess Margaret Children's Hospital of Perth and the Telethon Kids Institute. This telethon is the one that raises the most money per capita worldwide. The 2022 edition was held on October 22 and 23, with a goal of A$62,115,467, surpassed with the final figure of A$71,356,721 (US$45,432,824, about US$17 per capita).
Australia also has telethons in other states of the country, the oldest being in the state of Victoria, held every year since 1957 on Good Friday by that state's Seven network station. It is considered the first Telethon made in oceanic territory. The campaign raises funds for the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, and raised A$23,061,320 (US$15,388,818) in 2023, surpassing the goal of A$22,328,154 and setting a new all-time record after one day 12 hours.
Brazil
The AACD Telethon, broadcast by SBT, takes place at the end of October or when there are elections, in even years, at the beginning of November, and raises money for children with physical and motor disabilities. Its first edition was made in 1998. The only time the Telethon did not meet the goal was in 2003, but it was achieved ten days later in a special edition of the Hebe Camargo program. The AACD (Association for Assistance to Children with Disabilities), the institution that receives the money from the campaign, has seven rehabilitation centers, a school and a hospital specializing in orthopedic surgeries, as well as five associated rehabilitation centers in a cooperation program technique, which extends the coverage of the Teletón support.
The 2022 edition of the campaign was held on November 4 and 5, and celebrated the 25th anniversary of the campaign, which will be fulfilled in May of the following year. The program was divided into two parts: a three-hour opening gala on Friday night, and a nearly 16-hour marathon on Saturday. The goal was R$ 30 million, surpassed with a new historical record for the campaign, with the final figure being R$ 34,065,478 (US$ 6,764,391).
Costa Rica
Created in 1984, its first campaign was on December 7 and 8, 1984, it was created to contribute to the construction and equipment of four Comprehensive Rehabilitation Centers for People with Disabilities in the areas of Santa Cruz, San Carlos, Pérez Zeledón, Limón and Puntarenas in the 1984-1989 telethons.
Then, starting in 1995, the funds were used to make improvements to the National Children's Hospital. Between the telethons from 1995 to 1999, more than ¢ 600 million were collected, which together with support from the Costa Rican Fund Social Security managed to build the Tower of Medical Specialties that had a total value of ¢ 2 100 million, inaugurating on April 26, 2000. During the following years, the funds have been allocated to improvements of said hospital. In 2001 there was the construction of the Screening Center of this hospital, as well as the investment of the preliminary project and the preparation of plans for the construction of the Critical Care Tower of the same Hospital between the years 2002-2006, as well as for the purchase of a computerized axial tomograph in 2004.
Currently, it consists of a 28-hour marathon broadcast on all national channels, hosted and animated by presenters from all television channels in the country. Unlike the others in the region, this Teletón funds are not used to create and maintain child rehabilitation centers, but are used to equip areas of the National Children's Hospital and later, since 2011, help units of pediatrics from other public medical centers in the country. In 2022, the campaign was carried out on November 11 and 12, a few weeks before the traditional dates based on the Men's Soccer World Cup, and raised ¢ 504,287,331 (US$ 825,685), achieving the goal of ¢ 500 million after two years without exceeding the proposed objective. The campaign record was set in 2016, when more than ¢1.2 billion was raised.
Ecuador
Its first campaign was carried out in 1984 and broadcast through Ecuavisa, Teleamazonas, Telecuatro (later Telesistema, today RTS), Telecentro (today TC Televisión) and Gamavisión under the slogan "Christmas is for everyone". The proposed goal for that occasion was 50 million sucres, a figure that was doubled. The event was held consecutively until 1996 with the support of President Abdalá Bucaram (except from 1988 to 1991). Bucaram, who actively participated in the event as an entertainer, was accused of using the event for proselytizing purposes, giving toys to children that included phrases with his name and close advisors, and two months later he had to resign from the charge for various acts of corruption during his brief tenure.
After four years without being performed, it returned in the year 2000, being broadcast on Saturday December 16 on Ecuavisa, Teleamazonas, Telesistema (today RTS), TC Televisión and Gamavisión being called "Telethon for life&# 3. 4; and a goal of US$40 thousand. The goal was exceeded by collecting US$70,000 and an additional US$5,000 for bankruptcy and bank closures based on the devaluation of the sucre and dollarization in that country. In 2022, the Teletón was held after three years of absence, on Sunday, December 11, and had a goal of US$ 1,801,200. At the end of the program, the calculation showed the figure of US$ 1,851,000, exceeding the goal after 10 hours of work.
Spain
In Catalonia, the TV3 Marathon has been held since 1992, which is the telethon that raises the most money per capita in Europe. Organized by CCMA, the public broadcasting company of the autonomous community, it consists of a five-hour marathon on Catalunya Ràdio and another 16 or 17 hours on TV3. The campaign is carried out on a Sunday and has more than 3,000 activities held throughout Catalonia in order to raise money. Since 2005, several Catalan artists and those from other territories have recorded a CD that is sold two weeks before the marathon with the main newspapers in Catalonia and is the best-selling special production CD in Europe. A book is also made with life stories related to the cause to be supported, which changes year after year. In 2022, the event was held on December 18 and raised €8,034,807 (US$8,529,751) at the end of the marathon for the fight for cardiovascular health. However, the campaign's fundraising record was set in 2018, when just over €10.7 million was raised for the fight against cancer.
France
The French version lasts 31 hours and has been produced by France Télévisions since 1987, to support people with disabilities or rare diseases, with special attention to myopathy, in the areas of care and medical research. In the 2022 version, on December 2 and 3, a total of €78,051,091 (US$81,735,102) was raised, achieving the goal of €73,622,019 in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the campaign. However, the collection record was in 2006, when a sum of more than €100 million was reached.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, TVB produces seven telethons annually, the first and most popular being the Tung Wah Charity Show, which has supported the hospital group of the same name since 1979. The edition 2022 was held on Saturday, December 3. The six-hour day raised HK$126,888,888 (US$16,301,663), meeting the goal of HK$124 million.
Italy
In Italy, the Telethon has been held since 1990 to combat rare genetic diseases. The campaign spans a week, totaling around 70 hours of transmission between the three main TV channels and the three main RAI radio stations. The Italian Telethon has two research institutes in Milan and Rome. In 2022, the campaign was carried out from December 11 to 18 with a goal of €54,103,954, surpassed with the final figure of €56,424,837 (US$59,900,606).
Japan
Since 1978, the Nippon Television network has carried out the event 24 Hours of Television, Love Saves the Earth (24時間テレビ 愛は地球を救う, Niju-yojikan Terebi Ai wa Chikyuu wo Sukuu), the first Telethon held in Asia. The event, which despite its title is broadcast for 26 and a half hours, features various segments highlighting the running of a marathon of at least 100 km by a group of personalities. The 2022 edition was held on August 27 and 28, with the total collected published on October 10: ¥966,889,921 (US$7,052,957), exceeding the previous year's collection by some ¥80 million. The collection record was in 2011, when more than two billion yen was collected for the victims of the 2011 Japan Earthquake.
Panama
The country was the first in Central America to hold telethons, organized by the Club Activo 20-30 de Panamá, under the title Panama 20-30 Telethon. The first edition is held in 1981, and its objective was the construction and equipment of what is now called the National Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The first goal was US$ 1 million, exceeding it by 36%. From that moment, telethons were held consecutively until 1984. Between 1985 and 1989, no events were held due to the political and economic crisis that the country faced at that time. In 1990, the second era in the history of the Panamanian Telethon began, focusing it on target projects aimed, for example, at improving hospital equipment, programs to overcome poverty and against work and child malnutrition, etc. The Santo Tomás Maternal and Child Hospital construction project achieved the highest collection, obtaining US$7.3 million, more than double the goal of US$3.5 million.
The Telethon is traditionally broadcast from start to finish from the ATLAPA Convention Center in Panama City. The objective of the collection of the 2022 event, held on December 16 and 17, was the adaptation and implementation of a Hybrid Operating Room for the Santo Tomás Hospital. The goal was B/. 3,000,020.30, and the collection was B/. 3,040,511.72, achieving the goal after 27 hours of programming. The event was broadcast by Telemetro, RPC TV, TVN, TVMax, Nex and Mas 23.
United Kingdom
There are two telethons in the UK, both broadcast on the BBC. The most popular is Comic Relief's Red Nose Day, which since 1988 has raised money for the most destitute children in the country and in Africa. In its 2023 version, on March 17, it raised £35,310,407 (US$42,859,772) in the 5-hour program, not reaching the goal of £42,790,147 due to the economic crisis the country is going through. The success of this campaign exported the television format to other countries, such as the United States, Ireland and Finland.
Another telethon that Comic Relief did was Sport Relief, which in its latest version, made on March 13, 2020, raised £40,540,355 (US$49,743,015), surpassing the target of £38,195,278. The biennial event was created in 2002, and Comic Relief turned it, by the end of 2021, into a permanent campaign that will no longer rely on a TV marathon, for what Red Nose Day becomes an annual event from 2022, after having been biennial since its second edition, in 1989.
It also happens every year, since 1980, Children in Need (Niño en necesidad). It is considered the first Telethon made in European territory, and focuses on helping the health and education needs of children in the United Kingdom. The 2022 edition, held on November 18, maintained its short format of three hours and raised £35,273,167 (US$42,063,251), not exceeding the goal of £39,389,048 due to the economic crisis that the country faces.
Dominican Republic
In 2021, the Caribbean country held a telethon for the first time, which is intended to be held annually. Its name is Together for Children, inspired by the campaigns Un Sol para los Chicos in Argentina and Together for Children in Uruguay, which Like this new initiative, they raise funds for Unicef. The second edition of the campaign was held on Sunday, May 7, 2022, and broadcast by Telesistema, Teleantillas, Coral, Color Visión, CDN, Teleuniverso, Telefuturo, Canal 4 RD, Canal 25, Canal 17, Quisqueya Televisión and Microvisión on television. open, Telenord on pay television and TV Quisqueya for the Dominican community in the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico, for six hours, from the Telesistema studios. In addition, the marathon was broadcast by the 16 radio stations of the Medrano Group. The goal was to reach RD$ 12 million. At the end of the marathon, RD$13,862,673 (US$252,968) were raised, exceeding the goal.