Photo: Mike Biden

The Share-a-Smile telethon raised an estimated $64,000 Sunday at the Cherry Lane Shopping Centre.

This year marks the first time the telethon has been hosted anywhere other than the Okanagan-Similkameen Neurological Society building near the Penticton Regional Hospital

Manisha Wilms, executive director of the OSNS, said donations are often processed after the telethon, making the amount of donations raised Sunday an estimate.

The OSNS Child and Youth Development Centre has been hosting the annual fundraiser for 39 years. The relocation to Cherry Lane Mall has fostered the exact feeling of community the organization hopes to build, Wilms said.

“When you have been doing something one way for a long time you know how to do it, but this has been fantastic. It’s a much easier place for our families to come down and watch and for the public to connect,” Wilms said. “Part of our mission is raising money, but honestly part of it is just building a compassionate community.”

Wilms, who has been involved for the past five years, said the event did well in the mall, with most of the seating full throughout the day. Wilms said she hoped to convey a message of compassion and understanding to the crowd.

“Let’s just love each other and be tolerant of differences. If were even able to be at the mall and get people thinking about that message a little bit that’s a success for us,” Wilms said.

The OSNS provides early intervention, rehabilitation and treatment of children with developmental delays as well as an autism treatment program, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy and physiotherapy among other services.

The OSNS uses the funding for equipment with past projects including a paediatric climbing wall, adaptive playground equipment as well as changes to the centre to make it more welcoming for children.