Relief efforts for the victims of last Sunday's massive earthquake have overtaken the entire country, with several TV stations raising TL 129 million as part of a joint charity telethon.
Many TV and radio stations participated in a joint telethon and raised TL 64 million on Wednesday night. Broadcast live, the program was titled “One heart for Van” and was broadcasted on Kanal D, ATV, CNN Türk, Kanal24, FOX and several other channels.
Familiar faces from several popular TV series and shows participated in the telethon. Proceeds from the campaign will be donated to Prime Minister Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan's Van Earthquake Humanitarian Assistance fund. Erdoğan himself phoned in to say, “I thank our generous people.”
Furthermore, more than TL 65 million was raised during a telethon organized by the Samanyolu Media Group and charity foundation Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) on Tuesday night. Many well-known political, arts and sports figures demonstrated their support for eastern Turkey through both financial contributions and their participation in the telethon, where they answered calls that flooded in throughout the night.
A total of TL 65,056,527 was donated during a live fundraising telecast on local Samanyolu TV channels and radio stations. More than 9,000 people reached out to support victims of the earthquake by donating money via text messages during the telethon.
STV's telethon was hosted by Gezegen Mehmet, a famous radio personality. Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen also personally donated TL 20,000 to the STV telethon, titled “Kardeşlik Zamanı” (Fellowship Time). Audiences were touched by a group of young children who had emptied their moneyboxes to donate TL 3,500 for the fundraiser.
Kimse Yok Mu President Ünal Öztürk phoned in from Van, where he said the charity has been active in relief efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake on Sunday.
Published on Today's Zaman, 27 October 2011, Thursday
Related Articles:
