Creative Communications students proved their industry training has gone to the dogs (and cats) this month, while helping to find homes for neglected animals during the Winnipeg Humane Society’s annual fundraising telethon.

On Sunday, March 22, students took part in their fourth Liberty Tax 1001 Donations event, a live nine-hour telethon on Shaw TV that’s produced entirely by students from all four CreComm majors — advertising, journalism, public relations and media production.

Students were responsible for filling every moment of screen time with alternately heart-breaking and heart-warming content, shooting and editing nearly 30 behind-the-scenes stories depicting how WHS staff and volunteers care for injured, abused and abandoned animals.

Students were also responsible for creating all graphics and promotional materials, and on the day of the telethon, for all control room and camera work, as well as on-air hosting and live interviews.

“The show was such a success, almost every available animal was adopted,” says CreComm instructor Joanne Kelly.

Fundraising totals are still being tallied, but the telethon has already drawn raves from the Canadian broadcasting industry.

In May 2014, Kelly’s Live TV Production class earned the Best Student Special/Live Remote award from the Broadcast Educators Association of Canada (BEAC), for their work on the 2014 telethon, which raised a record $72,000 for the Humane Society.