RHODE ISLAND'S BROADCASTERSSERVING EVERY LOCAL COMMUNITY
Meeting Street, an organization that provides individual learning programs for thousands of children with developmental delays, gets to tell its story to the community each year during its annual telethon on WPRI-TV in Providence, R.I.The four-hour, commercial-free telethon preempts primetime programming, and all production for the event is done in-house by the station. Planning alone requires six months, and all departments, from engineering to the newsroom, are involved. Last year, the telethon generated nearly $500,000 from phone donations and long-term corporate commitments tied to the event. WPRI gives Meeting Street more than $150,000 of in-kind support every year, and with the station’s help, the organization keeps growing in both resources and the number of children using its services. "We couldn’t do the work we do without WPRI’s support," said Meeting Street President and Chief Executive John Kelly. "Their talent does an amazing job of showing people what we do."
This past fall, listeners tuned into WKKB-FM in Providence, R.I., for its two-day Promesa y Esperanza (Promise and Hope) Radiothon, which raises funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The broadcast is carried out in partnership with 15 sister stations in the Davidson Media Group throughout the country to raise awareness of childhood cancer within the Hispanic community and help St. Jude continue to offer treatment to all children, regardless of their families’ ability to pay. This year’s effort raised more than $100,000 in WKKB’s listening area alone, and more than $633,000 between the 16 stations combined. In addition to the live broadcast, the stations promoted the radiothon several months in advance, using on-air mentions, press releases and its Web site to reach a larger audience. "We are so grateful to these dedicated Spanish language radio stations and their generous listeners who have embraced the St. Jude mission of finding cures and saving children," said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising organization of St. Jude. "It is heartwarming to see the Hispanic community rally around our cause every year, and I know that the funds raised during Promesa y Esperanza will inspire hope in our precious patients and their families."
Every quarter, WJAR-TV in Cranston, R.I., selects a grassroots organization championing change in the community and helps it grow by providing extensive on-air support. Now in its fifth year, the "Champions in Action" campaign, a partnership between the station and Citizens Bank, has provided funding and media exposure for dozens of organizations. Through the program, viewers have seen the work of former gang members turned counselors at the Institute for Study and Practice of Nonviolence; volunteers have been recruited to help the Welcome House Shelter; and students have learned about New Urban Arts, an after-school arts mentoring program. WJAR produces public service announcements and news stories about each "champion," and a quarterly breakfast hosted by the station provides recipients with networking opportunities. "When we became a ‘Champion in Action’ recipient, it really catapulted us into a new era," said Robert Cardeiro from the Norman Bird Sanctuary. "It enabled us to reach out to a larger audience and garner more volunteers." In celebration of the program’s fifth anniversary, the station produced a 30-minute special about the many "Champions in Action," both past and the present.
The Rhode Island Blood Center got a boost in lifesaving donations when WBRU-FM in Providence, R.I., offered anyone who rolled up their sleeve a free ticket to the Paramore show, an event that was part of the station’s Summer Concert Series. It was the third consecutive year that the station offered tickets to donors, and more than 300 listeners came to give blood along side WBRU staff. The station aired live remotes from the drive and began promoting the event with public service announcement (PSA) two weeks prior. To draw as many donors as possible, the station also sent an email blast and posted announcements on its Web site. At the Paramore show, the station provided the blood center with a booth and made promotional mentions to remind all concert-goers of the continual need to replenish our blood supply. Multiple times each year, the station meets with the center to see what additional support it can provide. To keep the need for donations on listeners’ minds, WBRU runs additional PSAs, and conducts interviews with cancer survivors and others who have needed blood transfusions.
The local newspaper and WNRI-AM in Woonsocket, R.I., carry on the "Milk Fund," a local tradition that started in 1936 as a way to help struggling families. Each year, throughout the month of December, multiple fundraising efforts in Woonsocket raise money toward the purchase of milk vouchers. For the past 20 years, the station has given airtime to promote related events and to urge its listeners to give monetary donations when they see the familiar milk bottles placed at businesses throughout the area. In addition, it organizes its own fundraiser, a daily on-air auction during the morning drive. From 6 – 9 a.m., station staff auction off items WNRI has secured through working with local businesses. On average, the "Milk Fund" brings in $80,000 annually, which helps feed 1,400 local families.
When a documentary was made about a homeless man finding help at Crossroads, the largest homeless services organization in the state, WNAC-TV in Providence, R.I., secured the rights and took the opportunity to create a telethon around its airing. During documentary breaks, the two-hour primetime broadcast switched to station-produced vignettes about the shelter and its residents. Viewers were asked to open their hearts and their pocketbooks and pledge by phone or online. The effort raised $85,000 for the shelter, providing greatly needed funding as the housing crisis and economy create an ever-growing demand for the shelter’s services. WNAC also has lent support to Crossroads by donating airtime for public service announcements and moving the station’s purchases for print orders to the Crossroads Copy Center, an in-house business where residents of the shelter receive professional training in print production and computer and graphic skills.
The valued contributions of women veterans will not be forgotten thanks to the efforts of WSBE-TV in Providence, R.I."New England Portrait: Rhode Island Women of World War II: In Their Own Words" uses footage from interview sessions to chronicle the experiences of female World War II veterans from Rhode Island. The women profiled in the special speak candidly about their experiences and service some 60 years ago. Two panelists, the curator of the Naval Historical Collection and a local professor, author and historical consultant, round out the one-hour program by providing context and additional information about the roles of women during World War II. By working with high school students on the tribute, WSBE made the program a hands-on learning experience for aspiring historians and journalists. Furthering the opportunity for learning, WSBE hosted and facilitated meetings between high school students and female veterans.
For more examples of how Rhode Island’s local radio and TV broadcasters are serving every local community, please contact the Rhode Island Broadcasters Association .