(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – Western New York’s Labor Unions raised $74,809 over the weekend to benefit the annual, and televised, 62nd Variety Club Telethon, which raised a grand total of $1.04 million that directly supports Buffalo’s Oishei Children's Hospital and a host of other children's charities.

“It was ‘another successful’ telethon,” Labor Chair Tony Vaccaro - a Teamsters Local 264 Representative, told WNYLaborToday.com. “(Organized Labor) ‘exceeded’ our total from last year (which was $72,000).  ‘That was our goal - to do better to benefit the kids we support.’”

A number of area Unions sent representatives with their donations, many of whom appeared during a three-hour Union Hour that was held on Sunday (March 10th).  During that same time, area Unionists donated their time to man the telethon's phones in order to take donations.

In addition to the area’s United Auto Workers (UAW) Locals - who always seem to lead the way to raise money for the telethon, Vaccaro said a number of Buffalo and Niagara Building and Construction Trades Union were also in the house to formally make their donations.

“(Labor) ‘just keeps coming out and raising bigger numbers,’” he said.  “They ‘showed what Variety means to them and their Members.’  And the UAW ‘always knocks it out of the park’ because of the many gate donations that are made (outside the local plants).”

Vaccaro also heaped praise on Labor Co-Chair William Mayer (Pictured Below On The Left, Next To Vaccaro) of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades “who did an outstanding job.”

Mayer, he said, not only created a specialized Variety Club magnet for the telethon, but also old them to area Unions and their Members. 

In addition, he traveled to a number of area Unions to take photos of their representatives, who held up Variety Club and Telethon signage before posting them to Social Media - which helped raise the public profile of the effort.

On another front, Vacarro said the Buffalo Teachers Federation created a QR code that was sent out to its Member Teachers, who could use it to make telethon donations.

Photos Courtesy Of IUPAT’s Mayer Via Facebook.