Final total known in six months

Press, 2 July 1985, Page 3

Final total known in six months

With Telethon donations continuing to flow in, the final amount raised will not be known for another six months. The amount raised by 8 p.m. on Sunday was $6,007,722, but according to the national organiser, Mr Don Hutchings, of Television New Zealand in Auckland, it will be six months before a final accurate figure can be given. “We are usually pretty close' on the night,” Mr Hutchings said, “but at the moment, until everyone has been to the bank, we do not know where we stand.” Mr Hutchings did not know if another Telethon would be held. He said the decision rested with Television New Zealand. “We won’t be thinking about one until late 1986,” he said. For those who wish to make a late donation, they can hand in their contributions to any branch of the Bank of New Zealand, or address their donation to Telethon, Private Bag, Christchurch. B.N.Z. staff in Christchurch were kept busy yesterday with people paying in the amounts they had pledged. The assistant marketing manager for the Christchurch branch, Mr Peter Jamieson, said his branch had received about $6500. While the banks were busy, Telethon’s Christchurch headquarters — an office behind the TVNZ shop in the Triangle Centre - was deserted. At the height of the Telethon fever, eight staff had manned the office. They were spending yesterday recovering..