On Friday, April 10, Lambda Pi Eta and WSRU-TV collaborated to host the Telethon, a 24-hour livestream to raise awareness and donations toward the Butler County Humane Society.
Lambda Pi Eta is the honor society for The Communication Association.
The Telethon was also held in 2023 and 2025, making this the third semester this event was held.
Individuals could tune in to watch members of WSRU-TV and Lambda Pi Eta participate in a variety of fun activities. Some activities included a murder-mystery game, a hot-dog-eating contest and BeanBoozled.
Many segments included pet-themed activities such as Family Feud, a spelling bee and pet toy-making.
A pre-recorded tour of the Butler County Humane Society and a segment on dog fostering were included to raise awareness of the organization.
Lambda Pi Eta President Natalie Kimmel said both organizations chose to partner with the Butler County Humane Society because “it’s right in our local community, [and] our membership cares deeply about animals and the quality of their lives.”
Kimmel also mentioned some members of Lambda Pi Eta are currently fostering dogs.
“This event provides SRU students with an opportunity to support a cause greater than themselves,” Kimmel said.
Members of Lambda Pi Eta and WSRU-TV highlighted their takeaways from hosting the Telethon.
“My favorite part of the event was all of the fun tasks we did for each donation goal,” Zach Smith, vice president of WSRU-TV, said. “It gave the event more depth and character overall.”
Smith said he was pleased with the turnout. “It’s hard to keep an audience consistent and engaged, and it felt good to see people were enjoying us,” he said.
“This event is important to me because it draws attention to a local organization that was amazing to work with and is so grateful for everything we did,” Colby Gray, secretary of WSRU-TV, said.
As of April 13, $826 of their $1,000 goal has been reached.
If students are interested in donating, the link will be available until April 18.
On Thursday, April 16, Lambda Pi Eta will host another fundraiser in the quad from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
All donations go directly toward the Butler County Humane Society.
