It’s finally here… As I write this the 24th Annual Salvation Army 16 Hour Radiothon benefiting the Bed and Bread Club is underway live at the Oakland Mall in Troy.
This is the only fundraiser for this amazing program that feeds 5000 men, women, and children every day - 365 days a year - and shelters nearly 600 people a night.
As always, the event is being held at the Oakland Mall in Troy but this year is being heard on 760 AM- WJR and hosted by their personalities.
$120 feeds one person for an entire year; $240 feeds two people for an entire year. You can choose any payment plan - including $10 or $20 a month. If you donate $240 - you’ll receive a commemorative soup bowl as a reminder of your generosity. But whatever you can afford to give is welcome and appreciated!
Through the years, this Radiothon has become the single biggest one-day Radiothon in the country raising more money in just 16 hours than any other event of it’s kind. And although I’m not hosting the event this year (having retired last March!) I continue to work, plan, and support it in a behind-the-scenes capacity through my new role on the Salvation Army Advisory board.
It’s amazing really when I think back to how it all started…
The year was 1988 and I wanted to do something to celebrate my show’s five year anniversary at 95.5 FM - then WCZY. And I knew I wanted it to involve a charity.
I called everyone from the morning show into the conference room and asked them to name their favorite charity. From Doc Andrews to Gene Taylor to Colleen Burcar to me - the answer was all the same: The Salvation Army.
So I asked Gene, as producer of the show, to call the Army and see if we could work something out. We ended up holding the first Radiothon right there in our studio for the newly formed “Bed and Bread Club”. It was only four hours long and we raised $15,000!
We were thrilled… and so was the Army! So the next year, we expanded the Radiothon to 16 hours.
We continued to hold it at the radio station each year until I moved to WOMC when we realized that by holding the event at a public venue (we chose the Oakland Mall because of it’s central location in 1997) we’d be able to raise more money.
And, thanks to you, we did! A total of almost $24 million dollars over the last 23 years - more than $2.3 million last year alone!
It astounds me to think of all the people who have been fed and sheltered - and whose lives have been changed over the years - because of your generosity. And it all started with a simple conversation with the morning show in the station conference room.
Through the years Gene Taylor and Doc Andrews who were present in that first meeting have passed on, but we continued each year with a great, hard working, dedicated morning show staff of Big Al, Jackie, Rebekah, Dana, Ankles and other contributors and friends of show. It was a real team effort - and the passion each person brought to the event was real and genuine. It wasn’t just about the broadcast, everyone - to a person - rode the Bed and Bread truck and experienced first hand the importance of the work being done.
So here we are, 24 years later. And while the radio station hosting the event has changed - the need has not.
There are thousands of people in our community who count on this program - funded exclusively by your donations - to survive. For many it is the difference between eating or going hungry; Sleeping in a freezing cold abandoned building or in a warm Salvation Army Shelter. In reality, for so many men, women and children, it’s the difference between life and death.
I thank you so much for your support and contributions over the years and hope that - like me - today you’ll be donating by calling 248-528-0760 or going to www.wjr.com!
Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you back here Monday!
-Dick