Sentence:  George Simon , exec director of Danny Thomas A. L. S. A. C. [ Aiding Leukemia Stricken American Children ] fund raising group , filled me in on the low-down phonies who are using phones to <WSD>solicit</WSD> funds for Danny 's St. Jude hospital in Memphis . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently