The Coronado Schools Foundation (CSF) 36th annual telethon took place on the evening of Thursday, March 15 from 4:30 to 9 pm.
The telethon is a fundraising event put on by CSF and broadcasted live from Coronado High for those that cannot attend in person. This year’s event had representation from all four CUSD schools. Silver Strand Elementary, Village Elementary, Coronado Middle, and Coronado High School all had leaders at the event along with student hosts.
Local Food and Student Entertainment
Even before the festivities started, guests and performers were buzzing with energy. The night started off in the CHS quad where guests could enjoy some local food courtesy of Garage Buona Forchetta and Gelato Paradiso. The food truck featured a pizza oven where everyone could watch the food being cooked, and gelato was offered as a refreshing and tasty dessert.
Student performances were first, and guests enjoyed choir songs from Silver Strand Elementary, guitar melodies from CMS, and much more. The outside events wrapped up around 6:30 pm and the event moved into the CHS Black Box Theater.
This year was different from past telethons because CSF joined forces with Coronado’s Talent and its host Alan Kinzel to feature both events on the same night. Coronado’s Talent is a fan-favorite local event that began in the spring of 2017. The talent displayed this year was brighter than ever; each year seems to get bigger and better.
Telethon Impact at CUSD
During this year’s Top Buzz Telethon, Coronado Schools Foundation raised over $100,000 (as of publication time, the CSF website shows $137,000 as donations continue to be accepted). All proceeds go directly to CSF, which then helps fund the Coronado Unified School District’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and arts programs. “I think [the telethon] is super important because it helps out all of our [learning] here at CHS. It is an overall great idea,” says Wyatt Riebe, CHS student and telethon volunteer.
Some CSF funded programs at the high school include ceramics, robotics, and SAT prep courses. Students love these classes and are grateful to have the opportunity to take them. Riebe shared that, “the telethon is our number one fundraiser at the school and it brings in a lot of money each year,” and he’s thankful that CSF continues to do it annually. Donors got the chance to win a vacation in Cabo, a brand new golf cart, and the chance to feel good knowing they were making a difference. There are donation competitions between past graduating classes and between the different schools, with prizes for groups getting the most donations. But actually, everyone’s a winner at the CSF telethon – having fun and enriching our schools.
Without the Coronado Schools Foundation and its yearly telethon, CUSD students would not have access to some of the amazing programs that they do. Students and staff are most appreciative for CSF for all they provide to our schools.
The Top Buzz Telethon continues to take donations to reach its goal of $250,000. To donate, visit csfkigs.org.
