During the 1960s, ’70s and early ’80s, a group of highly skilled, civic-minded people organized and produced a telethon for the local chapter of the March of Dimes. At its highest point, the telethon was the biggest winter event in Atlantic City, and was billed as the most successful telethon, per capita, in the United States.

Members of that unique team have reorganized to produce a telethon for the Insulin Support Fund, which provides insulin and other diabetic-related supplies to those in the greater Atlantic County region that either do not have insurance or cannot afford the life sustaining medicine and supplies. The Fund is administered by AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center.

The Insulin Support Fund 2010 Diabetes Telethon will take place Saturday, March 27, from 10am-10pm at the East Tower of Trump Plaza Casino Hotel, Mississippi Avenue and the Boardwalk. The telethon will be produced and directed by marketing executive Richard Helfant and entertainment executive Michael Tully. When not wearing their “telethon hats,” Helfant is executive director/CEO of Lucy the Elephant, and Tully is vice president of Specialized Productions, Inc. — a full service media company located in Allentown, Pa.

The show will be televised on Comcast Channel 2 throughout all of Atlantic County, as well as parts of Cape May and Cumberland counties. It will also be streamed onto the Internet at insulinsupport.org, and all are welcome to view the show’s live telecast in the East Tower Room at Trump Plaza. Admission is free and open to the public. Beverage service will be available.

Rounding out the production team from the list of former March of Dimes veterans are Atlantic City Weekly publisher Lew Steiner, Caesars chief entertainment technician Barry Pincus, Emmy Award-winning NBC cameraman Eric Eisenstein, Ruth Byard, Carolyn Granna, Rosey Wynn, Trish Wells, Roy Clark, Lynn Clark and returning assistant producer Mary Moyer, public relations manager at Trump Entertainment Resorts.

Former NBC40 news anchor and current public relations firm owner Lisa Johnson will co-host the telethon with local attorney Jeffrey Wilson and others. The telethon will feature performances by talented youth from the area in the morning, a celebration of Gospel music and choirs at midday, and casino and professional talent during the late afternoon and evening.

Informative commentary from area physicians will be featured, and pledge phones will open at 10am on March 27. The pledge phone number is 348-6400. Please visit Insulin Support Fund online to make a donation, or mail your donation to: Insulin Support Fund, P.O. Box 5310, Atlantic City, NJ 08404. All major credit cards will be accepted. Donations are tax deductible.

Tags: Insulin Support Fund

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Casino News, Charity Events, Events, Health Issues, Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.