New Philadelphia, Ohio (WJER) - A local charity and its supporters will be back on tv and computer screens this weekend raising money for disadvantaged children and adults.  

The Rainbow Connection has its annual telethon this Sunday from 10:30 am to 7 pm.  Director Carmel Hauter says they’ll be taking pledges and auctioning electronics, sports memorabilia, vacations and more. This year it’s airing on Spectrum Channel 15 from Tuscarawas Central Catholic High School. 

“There used to be longer segments. Well, when did everybody call? The last minute. So now it’s 8-minute segments. We start at 12:15 and 12:45. We continue that way throughout the day, so it’s fast, furious. The phones are ringing off the wall,” she says.

Haueter says you can also catch it all streaming online at tuscrainbow.org.

“We’re there. We have a new website that we’ve been working on. We have a donate button on it. We’ve got a watch live button,” she says. “We’re online and we’re going to be streaming live, and it’s going to be exciting.” 

Haueter says proceeds as always go toward helping people in need with medical expenses and purchases to make this a more inclusive community for those with disabilities.

“We’re such a partnership here in Tuscarawas County,” she says. “We’re the check writers. It’s you and everyone here in Tuscarawas County that supports us that makes it possible for us to do baseball fields, stair climbers, fishing piers, not to mention all the medications we buy for individuals on a daily basis.” 

The telethon last year brought in more than $225,000.             

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