County wide Phone-A-Thon coming soon!

If your phone rings on Sat­urday it may very well be a local high school student rais­ing money for a great cause. The Bluffton-South­ern Wells Chapter and the Norwell Chapter of Dollars for Scholars will be holding their countywide fundraising phone-a-thon on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010.
For the Bluffton-Southern Wells chapter, this will be the 19th year their phone-a-thon will be held. For Norwell’s chapter this year marks the fourth year return of the phone-a-thon program after a hiatus of sev­eral years.
In addition to seeking donations through phone calls, the program is sponsored by many area businesses.
All of the money raised during the phone-a-thon benefits students in Wells County. The chapters have been able to give a scholarship to every applicant. While most students seek scholarships for college educations, the organization has also funded trade school students, ranging from beauty school and cosmetology pro­grams, to funeral home or motorcycle repair programs.
If a call is picked up by voice mail or an answering machine, the calling student will leave a message and a mailing will be sent to the resident.
The Bluffton­/Southern Wells chapter typi­cally raises between $50,000 to $60,000 during the year of which between $10,000-12,000 comes from the annual phone-a-thon event.
Students from the Wells County public high schools will begin calling residents at 9 a.m. and the fund drive will end in the early afternoon hours.
Students have been asked to be very cordial in their requests for donations and the organization asks that the public give the stu­dents the same respect. Local students will be making the calls to help each other for a worthy program and not a telemarketer in a cubicle far away.
By making a donation, res­idents can help students offset some college tuition costs and stimulate their desire to con­tinue their education. One hundred percent of the money raised in Wells County will go to benefit local Wells County students.
To donate to Dollars for Scholars, contact any of the three high schools and ask for a guidance counselor or principal.