Putting on a two-day, 24-hour telethon which raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer takes singers, dancers, and camera crews.

But in order to hold a televised event which raises over $200,000 annually for the American Cancer Society, it also takes a dedicated group of volunteers working months in advance.

“It absolutely does not come together on the weekend. We try our best to make it look that way but that’s not what’s actually happening,” said Joe Krushinsky, the telethon’s founder and host.

Kathy Lengyel won’t be found on stage or behind a camera during the telethon, but she is one of many people who put in long hours leading up to the show to make the event a success year after year.

“Whatever needs to get done. It’s an important thing - very important,” she said.

Lengyel joined the cancer telethon volunteer office in 2019. As a cancer survivor, the Nesquehoning resident wanted to do something to give back and support others battling the disease.

On Sunday, Lengyel will be recognized by with the Cancer Telethon’s 2022 ‘Volunteer Extreme’ award at the organization’s Cancer Fighters Dinner.

When Lengyel first volunteered, she had no idea that the following years would be unlike any that came before in the telethon’s 40-year history.

“She was over there with a mask, I was over here with a mask. Anything we got done, that’s how it got done,” Krushinsky said.

The pandemic hit a month before the 2020 show. It made an event with dozens of performers sharing a stage was impossible. But with much of the fundraising and preparation already completed, they got a modified version of the show on air.

In 2021, the pandemic presented different challenges. The in-person fundraising events which form its backbone were impossible. But they rose to the challenge, going live from Penn’s Peak in August, and still raising over $205,000.

“As somebody who was around for decades I knew that ‘if you miss this, you don’t get to come back.’ And the person I was able to enlist to come along with that was Kathy,’” he said.

This year, the show returns to its normal scheduled date in April. And Lengyel has been working hard to get ready.

A big part of her job is helping to organize fundraisers which take place in the months leading up to the big show, helping to contribute to its eye-popping fundraising totals.

“I started at one day a week, two hours. Now if there’s an event, sometimes I’ll do the whole week,” she said.

In the last month, she helped organize advertising and sales for multiple fundraisers - a concert by the Mudflaps, a basket raffle scheduled for April 2-3, and Daffodil Days.

For Daffodil Days, the group sold 595 daffodil bunches and 950 flower pots. Lengyel also decided to make over 700 chocolate daffodil candies, which were a hit among kids at local schools.

On the telethon weekend, she’ll be at Penn’s Peak before they go on air at noon on Saturday. And on Sunday, she’ll stay until after midnight to help tear down.

“It’s exhausting, but it’s a good exhaustion, it really is. I enjoy what I do,” she said.

The cancer telethon takes place noon-midnight on April 9 and April 10.

The annual basket raffle takes place at Tamaqua High School April 2-3.

For more information on the cancer telethon and all of its associated events, visit cancertelethon.org.