Plum students raise nearly $51K during annual Make-A-Wish telethon

Plum High School senior Sophie Anderson was astonished when classmate Hailey Depkon told her the district’s annual telethon benefiting Make-A-Wish had reached $50,000.

“We did not think we were going to be able to raise that much money,” said Anderson, 18, who was the telethon’s co-head floor director with Depkon. “We were very grateful that we were.”

Expectations for the 23rd annual telethon, held Dec. 21, were somewhat dampened because of how much of the community’s resources went to helping those affected by the August house explosion in the borough’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood.

But not only did the telethon go well, the community continued to put its support behind it, with fundraising and donations coming to $50,906.14, said Rick Berrott, a TV production teacher and co-sponsor of the high school’s National Honor Society, which started the telethon.

“I was just stunned,” he said. “To raise $50,000 after the community and the district gave so much earlier in the year for Rustic Ridge, I’m kind of shocked and just humbled.”

Over 23 years, the telethon has raised more than $1.14 million. It reached and exceeded $1 million in 2021.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation, a national nonprofit organization, raises money to grant wishes for children 17 and younger who have life-threatening illnesses.

About $40,000 already had been raised going into the day of the telethon, Berrott said.

Jenn Mascaro, with Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Murrysville, gave a little over $5,100. Her team’s fundraising efforts included raffling suite tickets to a Penguins game and packs of lottery tickets, as well as a “sip and shop” event.

In four years, Mascaro said they have raised more than $100,000.

“I love what they stand for,” she said of Make-A-Wish. “It’s really heartwarming to see the kids and the smiles on their faces. I just love it. I’m passionate about it and I love fundraising.

“We probably could have kept going, but we ran out of time.”

Among the district’s five schools, Pivik Elementary led with $17,228.25, followed by the high school, $15,810; Holiday Park Intermediate, $13,267; O’Block Elementary, $3,027.70; and the middle school, $1,573.19.

This was the second year in a row that Pivik raised more than $17,000, Principal Michael Gauntner said. The K-4 school has about 730 students.

Like Berrott and others, Gauntner wasn’t sure what to expect.

“I think we have a really strong community within our building. Our families, staff and students know that what we are doing is going toward a good cause,” he said. “Our students and staff stepped up to the challenge, and they really came through for this.”

In addition to being in Berrott’s television production class, Anderson and Depkon are officers in the National Honor Society, vice president and treasurer, respectively.

The society raised $22,000 toward Rustic Ridge help, said Depkon, 17, a senior.

Despite a few hiccups, such as guests not able to make it or showing up late, Depkon said the telethon went well, and they figured everything out as it went along.

“It was crazy to see how much we could bring in for Make-A-Wish as well this year,” Depkon said. “It was honestly incredible.”