Day One of the 11th Annual Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon

 The 11th annual Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon kicked off on Tuesday at 6 a.m.

The Radio-Telethon runs for 36 hours, through two Red Sox games in August. WEEI and NESN broadcast stories and interviews from cancer survivors, current patients, famous athletes, doctors and researchers. All of the money raised goes towards cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

“It’s been a great day. There have been plenty of patient and survivor stories which get a lot of emotions going,” Cathleen Genova, a media representative for Dana-Farber said. She had been working the phones with 12 other volunteers since 6 a.m. “There is no time to be tired. This is all about coming together and working together to raise money for such a great cause.”

A handful of Boston athletes made appearances at the fundraiser, including Shawn Thornton and Tukka Rask of the Boston Bruins, Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzales of the Red Sox and Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo of NESN.

At 5:03 p.m., the total money raised was at $618,344. “People are very generous,” Genova said. “They have either called in or contributed online.”

. The Red Sox held a special ceremony prior to Tuesday’s game and will hold another one before today’s game as well.

Patch will have more on the Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon later today.