Telethon will benefit Charities

Everyone from political commentator Alan Chartok and TV anchor Jack Aernecke to radio personalities Mason and Sheehan will be on television this weekend for a common cause: Catholic Charities.

The occasion is a first-ever telethon hosted by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany, Dec. 6 from 3-11 p.m.

The event is designed to raise two things: awareness of Catholic Charities and money for its emergency assistance program, said Susan Murante, coordinator of public relations for Catholic Charities.

The telethon will be hosted by Mr. Chartock, who appears on WNYT; Mr. Aernecke, anchor of the news on WRGB; disc jockeys Mason and Sheehan of WXCR; and Joe Caruso, general manager of WIZR-WSRD radio in Johnstown.

The eight-hour program will include entertainment as well as information on Catholic Charities programs. Among the programs to be highlighted are those dealing with such problems and issues as domestic violence, lack of housing, HIV-AIDS, disabilities, the elderly, migrant workers, sex offenders, chemical abuse, parenting, counseling and hunger.

Video features will focus on the Nutrition and Elderly Program of Schenectady County, Catholic Charities Community Center, Arbor House, and Sister Maureen Joyce, executive director of Catholic Charities.

Among the local politicians and celebrities expected to participate are Nancy Barrett, an artist who makes hat boxes; Sister Marion Honors, CSJ, and Sister Eileen Lomasney, CSJ, who created "How We Tell God's Story," a children's book for the diocesan Sesquicentennial; and Times Union reporter Paul Grondahl, author of a newly published biography of Mayor Erastus Corning of Albany.

Entertainers include the musical group Ernie Williams and the Wildcats, Gospel singers, bagpipers, drummers, dancers, guitarists, and actors.

Several incentive gifts have been donated to the telethon, Ms. Murante said, and will be given to donors who call within certain designated times. The gifts include copies of "Canals & Crossroads," the diocesan history book, and evenings at local bed-and-breakfast inns.

The money raised during the telethon will benefit the emergency assistance program, which provides food, shelter and bill-paying for individuals in crisis situations. The program serves people in all 14 counties of the Diocese.

(The Catholic Charities telethon can be seen on WOCD-TV, channel 55, in the Capital Region for those without cable. It will also be shown on cable channel 20 in Albany, Colonie, Saratoga Springs, Troy, Greenwich, Loudonville and Cohoes; and on cable channel 5 in Amsterdam, Canajoharie, Gloversville and Schenectady. The telethon runs from 3-11 p.m. on Dec. 6.)

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