Maraya has been out collecting funds with her grandma to raise money for this year s TeleMiracle. As of Sunday she has collected $1,570, and on air, she challenged Weyburn businesses to meet or beat this donation. TeleMiracle means a lot to Maraya, as her aunt Danette (predeceased) passed away from spina bifida on Jan. 7, 1989. Danette used funds from TeleMiracle in her day for new wheelchairs or money for transportation to get to appointments. Maraya went up to Regina last month to prerecord her son as they are not doing a live show due to COVID. Maraya will also be doing a zoom call to present her cheque just before she performs on Sunday.
This is a return appearance for a number of these performers, including Alexander who is dancing for the third time, her second appearance as a soloist. She previously appeared in 2017 and 2019. She held a fundraiser selling her art online, and as of Monday she had raised about $2,000, which will be matched by Nutrien to make it a $4,000 donation. As with most other performers, she taped a video of her dance performance and it is set to be shown around 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 28. “I’m pretty excited to see what the end result of our recording session looks like. It was quite different this year, but it will be cool to see how they mix in all the performances together in the end,” said Alexander.
In addition to performing, each individual and group is committed to fundraising for the charity. The TeleMiracle Foundation provides specialized mobility and medical equipment to people and organizations throughout the province, as well as travel assistance for residents in need of medical treatment outside their community. The 20-hour telethon will be broadcast live on CTV throughout Saskatchewan and livestreamed on telemiracle.com starting at 9 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27, and concluding at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 28. The show’s countdown, “Countdown to TeleMiracle”, will be livestreamed at www.telemiracle.com and on TeleMiracle’s YouTube channel from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. on February 27.