Donations poured in from cattle auctions, polar dips, talent shows and many individuals across eastern Ontario and western Quebec for the 28th annual CHEO telethon.

The final tally at 7 p.m. Sunday was $6,335,595, which broke 2010's record of $6,258,971.

It was raised from a diverse set of fundraisers – Glebe High School raised $15,500 in one night on canvassing the community, Burn your Bra for Bev raised $25,000 and over $7,000 was raised from the CHEO coin boxes found in many stores.

Costco was the last donor revealed, at $1.2 million.

Bell and the Sens Foundation finished their five-year, $1 million commitment with a $200,000 cheque, and Majic 100's Stuntman Stu committed to $1,000 a year for the next ten years.

"CHEO is a great hospital and we're very lucky to have it," said Jacob Emmanuel-Doyle, CHEO's Champion Child. "It's such a great place."

"I'm here volunteering because CHEO helped me whenever I was sick," said one volunteer, who raised $3,500 by spreading the word on e-mail.

The telethon began at 7 p.m. Saturday on CTV Ottawa and continued until 7 p.m. Sunday.

Proceeds went to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario for research, purchasing new equipment and supporting their programs.

"Everyone's been very nice to me here," said one patient who was in the hospital for Crohn's disease. "They have a teaching system and the teachers actually contact your school, they keep in touch with all your teachers . . .my teachers have given CHEO's teachers things to do so it helps me keep up."

There was also a first – a Twitter chat with CHEO doctors moderated by CTV Ottawa's Graham Richardson from 5:15 to 6 p.m. Sunday.

The telethon has raised now over $71 million for the hospital since 1984.