The Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse Telethon raised $1,445,915, Sunday.
The five-hour event averaged $361,478.75 per hour.

In 1982, the Center held its first Circles of Hope Telethon hosted by Carl Perkins and Cousin Tuny.
The event raised $10,000.

The Exchange Club-Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse opened its doors in October 1981.

The Center was the first Child Abuse Prevention Center in the state of Tennessee and the fourth in the Nation.

It is now one of the largest of its kind.

The Center started in a dormitory room on the Union University campus in downtown Jackson.

A shower stall was where the diapers, toys and clothing were stored. There was a full-time director and a part-time secretary. There were pancake breakfasts, mile-long subs, concerts, bake sales and other fundraisers created to keep the doors open.