Over ¢600 million colones, about $1 million is the plan to raise for the Children's Hospital during this weekend's Telethon fundraising initiative.

The event will take place from Friday, Dec. 6, to Sunday, Dec. 7, to provide medical equipment for the hospital.

According to the Active 20-30 Club, the foundation in charge of organizing telethon, the funds will be used to provide the hospital's new ophthalmology area with cutting-edge medical equipment, allowing children to receive early diagnoses and timely treatments for a wide range of eye conditions, from low vision to complex surgeries.

The free admission event will take place in San José's Moreno Events Center in Pavas Canton, beginning Friday at 10 p.m. and ending Saturday at midnight.

More than 30 national and international artists will perform throughout the 26-hour event. The show will be broadcast live on local television channels 6, 7, and 13.

Last year's telethon raised around $979,000 for the Children's Hospital.

Active 20-30 Club is a worldwide nonprofit dedicated to assisting children and teenagers. The organization has more than 50 branches in the United States and Canada. In Latin America, the group has about 60 affiliates.

In 1949, the United States hosted the first telethon, generating $1,100,000 for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, which is located in New York.

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