This year marks the 28th Coronado Schools Foundation Annual Telethon! Every year, the entire community comes together to support our schools, enjoy live performances, and participate in the carnival.
The event not only provides a fun evening, but more importantly, it makes a huge impact in our schools. We are hoping to match last year’s success of $200,000, which will allow us to continue to invest into our schools and students.
EVENT DETAILS
Thursday, March 10th
Live from the Coronado High School Performing Arts Center
4:30-7:30pm – Games and CHS Senior Class Food Court
5:00-8:30pm – Live Broadcast in the Theatre
The event kicks off in the CHS Quad with a carnival unlike any other! We have karaoke stations, face painting by our high school students, hand gliding planes, robotics demonstrations, a BBQ, and more.
Moving into the theater at 5pm, we will have each school hosting four live acts. Make sure to join on time, as we will open with the entire kindergarten. Can you imagine how adorable all 150 darlings will be on stage? Throughout the evening, we will have student-produced videos highlighting how this fundraiser funds programs that spurs imagination, enhances learning, and opens minds.
In the Black Box, a smaller secondary stage, we have a live phone bank. Here we have teams reaching out and engaging past donors. On the stage, we invite the assistant principals and students to describe stories from their experiences raising funds. For community groups challenging each other or matching grants, all of the action goes down in the Black Box.
If you can’t make it live, tune into channel 19 on Time Warner Cable or 99 on AT&T, or the CSF website to watch in real time.
History
The telethon originally started on Orange Ave in front of what is now Time Warner Cable. Quickly outgrowing the space, the event headed to Village Elementary School. Before we knew it, the telethon was straining the resources of the elementary school, pushing the limits of the electrical system.
In 2007, we worked to construct the infrastructure of Coronado’s new High School Performing Arts Center to be able to host a live TV performance. Moving the performance to the high school opened up several unique opportunities for the telethon.
First, we were able to do live streaming shortly after moving to the high school. The first year we live streamed, we saw donations from as far away as Colombia! More importantly, it gave families everywhere the opportunity to watch live, such as deployed parents and grandparents.
Additionally, we were able to put students at the forefront of the event by having the entire event student produced. This minimized overhead, allowed CSF to invest into the school’s equipment to put on the event and gave our students a leading role in a large-scale community production.
Getting Involved
This event wouldn’t be possible without all the incredible community members, businesses, teachers, staff, and students who step up to volunteer. Several local businesses generously donate as block partners, helping raise about $30,000. Parents oversee the middle school students who flip the numbers showcasing our running total. Board members, community members, and staff man the phone lines.
We are so grateful for everyone who comes out to help put this production on.
If you are interested in volunteering, contact the events and volunteer coordinator at [email protected].
Importance of the $200,000 Telethon Goal
CSF has identified their goal this year to raise $200,000. This has been the goal for the last three years. Currently, parent donations are down this year. This goal allows CSF to maintain their same level of giving as last year. Whether it is $25 or $2,500, every donation makes an incredible impact in our ability to maintain the high-caliber educational experience in Coronado.
We are very optimistic that we can reach this goal with the generous support of our community as we have for the last three years.
Every single donation raised at this year’s telethon is critical for continuing the impact of the CSF in our schools. The money raised at the telethon funds programs that are not available through state funding.
One example is our Engineering Program. We start in the elementary with robotics. Students attend a science and engineering lab every week. Continuing those opportunities through the high school, we also offer advanced engineering courses. Because of the caliber of our program, we have a partnership with San Diego State University guaranteeing admittance for any of our students who complete the entire Engineering Program.
