Two former addicts will take fund-raising endeavor to new heights

AUSTINTOWN -- Two former drug addicts intend to raise $5,000 in 24 hours to help support Teen Challenge, a drug and alcohol addiction treatment program.
To raise the cash, Kevin Rauch and David Guido, now both Assemblies of God ministers and directors of the Teen Challenge International Ohio-Pennsylvania Crisis and Referral Center in Youngstown, will raise themselves 60 feet into the air and stay there 24 hours. Or, as Rauch explains, 1,440 minutes.
"If supporters pledge only $3.50 per minute, we'll meet our goal," Rauch said. "Last year we exceeded our goal. We raised $9,000, and that's huge money for us."
Rauch and Guido will take turns manning the 60-foot lift beginning at 1 p.m. Friday in the parking lot of the Austintown Wal-Mart. Several TV and radio personalities as well as Jim Iudiciani, mayor of Lowellville, will join the men in the air at various intervals.
Funds raised help support local Teen Challenge programs such as the 24-hour hotline. Donations will be accepted during the event. Telephone pledges will be accepted at the Teen Challenge hotline number, (330) 779-0099, or may be mailed to Teen Challenge, P.O. Box 807, Youngstown, Ohio 44501.