(LANCASTER, NEW YORK) – Organized Labor from across Western New York stepped up its generosity this year by donating $72,000 toward an overall $1 million-plus that was raised over the weekend during the locally-televised 61st annual Variety Club Kids Telethon.

As of Sunday evening (March 5th) when the telethon ended, this year’s effort raised $1,025,808, which directly supports Buffalo’s Oishei Children's Hospital and a host of other children's charities.  Last year, the telethon raised more than $900,000.

“I’m ‘obviously happy and surprised, but not shocked,’” Labor Chair Tony Vaccaro - a Teamsters Local 264 Representative, told WNYLaborToday.com.  “The Labor Community ‘has taken on Variety as their cause.’”

Organized Labor had averaged an annual and overall donation of around $50,000 in years’ past, but with the COVID-19 Pandemic now behind everyone (for the most part) and with Unionists being able to have more one-to-one contact in helping raise their donations, the $72,000 was $22,000 more than its yearly goal.

“We’ll ‘have to shoot for ($75,000) next year because the bar just moved a bit higher,’” Vaccaro jokingly said.

Vaccaro thanked all of Labor for its generous donations, notably from the United Auto Workers, Unions that made the following donations: Local 774 with $19,000; Region 9 with $12,000; and Local 897 with $6,000. 

“This is a Labor Community, ‘number one’ and their contributions accounted for seven-percent of our overall total - ‘and twenty-five-percent of the additional ($100,000) we raised to push us over the ($1 million) mark.’  ‘And that’s just more money for the kids.’  Western New York’s Unions ‘stepped up to be a positive force for our community,’” Variety Club Executive Director Richard Goldstein told WNYLaborToday.com.

“And (Union) volunteers ‘who agreed to man our phone bank at Teamsters Local 264 helped document ($250,000) of our overall total.’  ‘These were just regular people who gave up their time on a Saturday and Sunday,’” he said.

Goldstein credited the “return to normal” after the COVID-19 years where so many were wary of attending the telethon to make their donations, even with wearing a mask. 

In addition, honoring Buffalo’s Hometown Heroes - First Responders, Health Care Workers, Police and Fire, was also an important aspect of this year’s telethon.

“This telethon ‘has become a beacon for our community (over the years) and was certainly a shining moment in what has been a year of darkness’ (with the racist shootings on Buffalo’s East Side, a deadly Christmas snowstorm and last week’s death of a Buffalo Firefighter while battling a Downtown blaze).  ‘We just kept getting calls while people were seeing these people at the telethon,’” he said.

Meanwhile, Vaccaro also singled out Labor Co-Chair William Mayer, a Representative of the International Union of Painters & Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 4, who worked tirelessly in getting the word out to the Western New York Labor Community.

“Billy ‘did a great job,’ especially with the Building Trades.  ‘He was relentless,’” Vaccaro said.

For More On This Year’s Telethon, Go To: Painters’ William Mayer Named Labor Co-Chair Of The 2023 Variety Club Kids Telethon - Chair Tony Vaccaro ‘Hopeful’ Organized Labor ‘Will Surpass’ Its Combined Union Donation Of $50,000 During The 61st Annual Event That Takes Place March 4th & 5th - WNY Labor Today: Your On-Line Labor Newspaper, Bringing You Labor News From Across The Nation, New York State & Western New York