 On October 1, 2012, Univision and Fundación Teletón announced the creation of Fundación Teletón USA, a foundation to benefit rehabilitation centers specializing in research and medical treatment of children with disabilities, cancer and autism around the United States.The partnership resulted in the development of "Teletón USA", a 28-hour telethon based on the televised benefit created by Don Francisco – who has hosted the U.S. version since its inception – that originated in Chile in 1978, which was modeled after the now-discontinued telethons benefitting the Muscular Dystrophy Association that were started by Jerry Lewis.The first event on December 14 and 15, 2012 – which was watched by a cumulative 13.9 million viewers through its simulcast on Univision and co-owned radio network Univision America, and via live streaming on Univision.com and the UVideos platforms – raised US$8,150,625 (exceeding its initial goal of US$7 million).