Schwartz Center Student To Host Meeting Street Telethon Broadcast

For the first time ever in its 40-year history, the Meeting Street/Schwartz Center Telethon will broadcast live locally from two locations, the Providence and Dartmouth campuses, on Saturday, January 30 from 7 to 11pm.

According to South Coast Today, “the annual event, which attracts hundreds of guests and tens of thousands of viewers, is the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year.”

Last year, the telethon raised $863,000.

WPRI-TV Channel 12 will broadcast the four-hour show live and it will include an inside look at Meeting Street, special segments featuring children in Meeting Street’s programs and live interviews with Meeting Street supporters, staff and families.

This year’s show will also include a closer look at the partnership at The Schwartz Center, and how working together allows the organization to serve nearly 5,000 children each year.

The telethon this year will not only be hosted by WPRI Channel 12 news anchors, but also Meeting Street students. Seven-year-old Molly, a student at The Schwartz Center, will host segments of the show from Dartmouth. “Molly, who has cerebral palsy, started in early intervention and rehab services at Meeting Street, and is now a student at Schwartz.” At the age of 5, she took her first steps at The Schwartz Center and learned how to read and write.

Additionally, the public is encouraged to not only watch the broadcast, but to come down to catch the action live at Meeting Street’s Dartmouth and Providence campuses.

“For more information about this year’s telethon and or to make a donation, visit http://www.meetingstreet.org/Telethon, or contact Ashley DeSimone at 401-533-9230 or adesimone@meetingstreet.org.”

Information About the Schwartz Center: “Located in Dartmouth, the center provides services for children with special educational and developmental needs. In July of 2014, The Schwartz Center joined forces with Meeting Street in Providence, Rhode Island, to serve families in Southeastern New England. Both organizations were established nearly 70 years ago and now serve more than 4,000 families annually. For more information, visit www.schwartzcenter.org.”

With additional reporting by Sal Lopez