Michigan NBC affiliates WDIV in Detroit, WEYI in Flint, WILX in Lansing and WOOD in Grand Rapids along with Fox and CBS affiliates WWTV-WFQX in Cadillac helped raise $566,982 for those affected by the Flint water crisis by airing the Flint Water Crisis: 4 Our Families telethon Tuesday night. Detroit Piston’s owner Tom Gores and the FlintNow Foundation brought the final tally to $1,133,964 with a matching contribution.
“It was wonderful to see five television stations across Michigan, businesses and individuals come together to raise over $1,000,000 for the families and children of Flint,” said WDIV vp and GM Marla Drutz. “Although the telethon is over, this situation is not going away, so we encourage people and organizations near and far to continue to support the Flint Child Health and Development Fund well into the future.”
According to Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, who is the founding donor of the Flint Child Health & Development Fund, an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 Flint children have been exposed to lead in the water. She said the fund was created to provide wraparound services for children and families that are not provided by state and federal government support.
Advertisement“We created the Child Health and Development Fund to ensure that children will have access to the resources they need,” said Dr. Hanna-Attisha. “We appreciate every dollar people gave to create a brighter tomorrow.”
Dr. Hanna-Attisha noted that many of the services the fund will provide – things like optimal child health and development, early childhood education, educational and student support services, nutrition education and access to healthy food – will not only help mitigate the impact of the water crisis, but will contribute to the long-term health of the community for all residents.