20th RTL-Spendenmarathon sets new record – 10.068.215 Euro raised for children in need
After 30 hours on the air, the 20th RTL-Spendenmarathon telethon ended just after midnight on the night from Friday to Saturday with a record result. “I am particularly pleased that we were able to achieve this sensational result in our anniversary year,” commented Anke Schäferkordt, Chairwoman of the foundation during the grand finale of the longest charity show on German television. "For me, this means that our viewers honor our twenty years of commitment to children in need by placing their trust in our work. I thank all the donors, project sponsors and partners for their commitment to our good cause and promise that we will keep up our passionate engagement for children in Germany and around the world while maintaining transparency towards the donors.”
Money for socially disadvantaged, seriously ill, or refugee children
Not only did many viewers make donations, celebrities like Martin Rütter and David Garrett rounded up the sum out of their own pockets, Christine Neubauer and Magdalena Brzeska courageously boarded the Astro Trainer, and Joey Kelly and other treadmill runners racked up 4,809 kilometers within 24 hours. Atze Schröder presented a birthday Comedy Gala, and countless stars and guests volunteered in the RTL-Spendenmarathon studio. After 30 hours of continuous moderation, Wolfram Kons looked nothing but happy: "Especially in these turbulent times I am completely overwhelmed by our viewers’ enormous generosity and the dedicated efforts of all our supporters. In addition to funding our international projects, we will especially use the money raised to help children in need in Germany, be they socially disadvantaged, seriously ill, or refugee children: I promise you that every euro donated will go to where it is needed without a cent’s deduction.”
More than €143 million raised since 1996
RTL Charity-Gesamtleiter Wolfram Kons reports that with the new result, it has raised more than 143 million euros for charity since the first RTL-Spendenmarathon went on air in 1996. With these monies, the foundation has funded more than 140 children's aid projects, providing effective and sustained support for tens of thousands of children in Germany and around the world. All staff, production and administration costs incurred by the ‘Stiftung RTL – Wir helfen Kindern e. V.’ foundation are mostly covered by the channel RTL Television. The interest earned on the funds also goes to cover the administrative expenses incurred by the foundation. In this way, ‘Stiftung RTL – Wir helfen Kindern e. V.’ can guarantee that every cent of the donations reaches the children's aid projects, without deductions.
