The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Staff Reports
Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 11:24 AM
23rd Annual Friends Across Mountains Telethon Raises $208K
Wednesday's telethon was geared to support the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and programs that benefit it.
WBIR, WLOS in Asheville, N.C., and Friends of the Smokies held the annual Friends Across the Mountains telethon. This was the telethon's 23rd year.
The one-hour program began at 7PM Wednesday.
Last year's telethon raised about $205,000. The fundraiser in 2015 raised about $202,000.
More than $3.5 million has been collected since the fundraiser's start in 1995.
The telethon directly benefits Friends of the Smokies, which then uses funds to help the park, which does not charge an admission fee.
The two stations broadcast the fundraiser in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina to demonstrate the unity of love for the national park, which spans some 522,000 acres in the two states.
The Smokies park is the most visited in the national system, typically drawing at least 10 million visitors a year.
Sponsors of this year's telethon include Dollywood, Mast General Store, Pilot Flying J and SmartBank.
You can show your support for the telethon Wednesday by using #SmokiesTelethon on Twitter and Facebook.
Past donations have helped education, conservation, and historic preservation programs in the Smokies. Money also has gone to rehab popular trails such as the Alum Cave Trail.