February seemed to be the month that radio broadcasters devoted to health care charity fundraising, especially children’s hospitals. The NAB’s Licensed to Serve has the latest.
In Baltimore, CBS Radio’s WWMX(FM) collected more than $885,000 is its 25th annual radiothon to raise money for the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.
The Children’s Miracle Network saw a pair of stations raising money. KALC(FM), an Entercom property in Denver, hosted its 13th annual Children’s Miracle Network radiothon, raising $1.87 million for the Children’s Hospital of Colorado. In Alabama, WTVY(FM), Dothan, owned by The Radio People, raised over $105,000 for the Children’s Hospital of Alabama, located in Birmingham.
In a really heart-tugging move, morning show host Chris Allinger ofWQNY(FM), a Saga Communications station in Ithaca, N.Y., stepped up when he heard that locally raised money for a children’s cancer charity had been stolen. He turned his show into a makeshift fundraiser and collected $3,400, which was more than the amount originally stolen.
Another Saga property, KDXY(FM), Jonesboro, Ark., worked with KAIT(TV), to put on the 16th annual Have-A-Heart Wishathon for the Mid-South Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They collected more than $320,000.
Of course the big enchilada of children’s hospital charities is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. A number of stations in a number of groups have recently raised money for the organization.
In Green Bay, Wis., Midwest Communications’ WNCY(FM)’s 17th annual radiothon pocketed over $200,000. NRG’s Lincoln, Neb., property, KFGE(FM), collected $82,000 in its 14th annual radiothion. WDXB(FM), a Clear Channel station in Birmingham, Ala., held a benefit concert that raised $11,000. And in St. Jude’s hometown, Memphis, Tenn., Cumulus’ WGKX(FM) brought in almost $310,000 for the hospital.
February was also American Heart Month. Washington’s WHUR(FM), Howard University, broadcast from an American Heart Association health fair at a local YMCA. Clear Channel donated $1 million in airtime to the American Heart Association for a heart disease campaign.
