2018 Jõulutunnel charity telethon raises record €331,622
The 19th edition of ETV's annual holiday charity telethon Jõulutunnel raised €331,622 this year, which will be donated toward supporting treatment for children with rare disorders. This year's total marks the largest yet raised by the programme.
In comparison, in 2017, Jõulutunnel raised some €205,000 that went toward the establishment of family-centered neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) rooms dedicated to the care of extremely premature babies.
ERR's online news wrote on Friday that thanks to the telethon, Tartu University Hospital Children's Foundation also received an additional direct donation of €5,000.
"We will start using this money to cover the treatment of children who need it," Children's Foundation representative Küllike Hein explained. "In this case, it is children with rare disorders."
According to Ms Hein, also supported will be medical travel. The state often covers the costs of medical care itself abroad, but travel and living expenses typically have to be covered out-of-pocket by the parents themselves. "This is an area where help is needed," she added.
"The state often only covers operation and treatment costs abroad, but the costs of the trip are usually left for parents to pay. And that's where help is needed," Ms Hein told ERR.
The Children's Foundation assists over 400 children per year. Ms Hein encouraged all parents who feel they need help to contact the foundation.
Donations were accepted through midnight on Sunday night.
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Editor: Dario Cavegn, Aili Vahtla
