BATON ROUGE - Donations continue to be made following the Thursday evening telecast of WBRZ's 'Unite for Our Heroes' telethon.

Friday, a $20,000 donation was made at a Whitney Bank location. The latest donation brings the total raised during the initiative to almost $190,000.

While the telethon was only one evening, contributions can still be made for days to come.

Money raised benefits the EBR First Responders Fund, an account established in the 1980s by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation to support injured first responders or their families in cases of death while on duty. The fund, which is rarely discussed, became important in the wake of the shooting deaths of three law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge on July 17th. Other officers were injured in an ambush on Airline Highway near I-12.

Donations can be made via WBRZ.com HERE or at any Whitney Bank location in Baton Rouge.

"(Thursday) night was one of the most rewarding experiences in my 40-year television career," General Manager Rocky Daboval said in a statement about the outpouring of support WBRZ viewers showed while watching the telethon on TV, Facebook Live and WBRZ.com Thursday. "More importantly, I believe it brought this community together and helped start our healing process," he added.

"The spirit of these people calling in really does warm the heart," Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said in a live interview during the telethon. The governor, East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff, EBR mayor, police chief, and superintendent of state police all attended the event and answered phones with other law enforcement officials.

"Let's just don't stop.. let's continue to move Baton Rouge forward," Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said. "Let's continue to heal together as a people and become the great place we all know this city is."

***********************

Follow the publisher of this post on Twitter: @treyschmaltz