Rowan University Telethon to benefit Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity
Andy Polhamus | South Jersey Times
GLASSBORO — Student volunteers from Rowan University will dedicate six hours of televised fundraising to Gloucester County Habitat For Humanity on April 15. The Eighth Annual RTN Telethon, organized by the Rowan Television Network, will feature a donation drive alongside student-created programming that focuses on the work of HFH.
The telethon will include live musical performances from local artists as well as a series of interviews and short documentaries produced by journalism and film students.
“We visited different families who had Habitat For Humanity homes in the Gloucester County area,” said Evan Moore, an intern in the university’s public relations office who helped produce the broadcast. “We asked them the impact that Habitat had on their lives, and it was life-changing. A lot of them had only lived in small apartments with their kids, and now they had full-sized homes with backyards. We hope to send a positive message about what Habitat does: a message of hope.”
More than 50 Rowan students are involved with the event.
“I went into television to help people,” said Lauren Rauffer of Point Pleasant, a junior-year radio, television and film major who is co-producing the telethon. “Telling real people’s stories through this medium is something I hold very close to my heart.”
The telethon adopts a different cause each year. Past events have raised a total of $19,000 for various groups, including the Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey, the Make-A-Wish-Foundation and the Waves for Water Restore the Shore Project. Students hope to raise $5,000 for HFH this year.
This year’s event will be on Rowan’s campus channel 5 and can be viewed online at www.rtntelethon.com. It will run from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on April 15. Donors can contribute during the broadcast by calling (856) 256-5555, or make donations online at the telethon’s website.
For more information on Gloucester County Habitat For Humanity, visit www.gc-habitat.org.
Andy Polhamus may be reached at apolhamus@southjerseymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajpolhamus. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook