It was once again a record-breaking display of Maritime generosity; $6,462,352.04 was raised this weekend at the 2017 IWK Telethon for Children.

For 33 years people have been opening their hearts and their pocket books to support the telethon.

"Maritimers are the most generous donors on the planet and we are very grateful for every single cent that comes in here," says IWK Foundation president & CEO Jennifer Gillivan.

Cheques and donations poured in from Sydney, Charlottetown, Saint John, Halifax and beyond.

"To every single donor who has donated, or who will donate, we need your help, more and more we need your help, technology is changing, equipment is changing. We need to give our kids the very best here," says Gillivan.

While the cause is serious, the telethon performances were inspiring, and the volunteers all had a smile on their face, eager to help.

Michael Rumsby was diagnosed with brain cancer as a teenager, and spent months at the IWK.

"The doctors were amazing here; they always put our minds at ease,” says Rumsby. “They were really open to me with everything."

Rumsby just finished his second year studying engineering at Acadia University, and is volunteering as a telethon ambassador.

"It's made me a better person going through here with all the amazing people and stories I hear, it's really inspired me to do good, and I love coming back here to give back for all they did for me."

This year, donations will go towards funding important research and purchasing equipment, like a cough assist machine.

"We were able to purchase four of these cough assist machines, a cough assist is a device that the physiotherapists use at the IWK that helps patients who have a compromised cough or an absent cough move secretions through their airways," says IWK physiotherapist Shanna Thompson.

While the telethon is lot of work to pull off, for the crew at CTV, it's a labour of love.

"The employees at CTV, we're made up of moms and dads, aunts and uncles, friends and neighbours, all people who have had children at the IWK, we're all connected in some way," says CTV Atlantic vice president and general manager Trent McGrath.

"It’s a seamless effort because everyone is united by one cause, the IWK," Gillivan.

From all the live broadcast locations came stories of gratitude, and hope for an even better children's hospital for years to come.

"In a world, in an age, where people often don't agree on many things, this is something everyone agrees on, that we want this place, the IWK, to be the very best place it can be for our kids," says CTV Atlantic anchor Steve Murphy.

You can still donate by calling 1-800-595-2266 or visiting iwkfoundation.org.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Allan April.