“Do we need money to operate? Does a bear do his business up the Barkaboom?”
–Ryan Trapani, co-host From the Forest
After more than 5 years of serving the Catskills region with community information and wildly diverse music, WIOX Community Radio finally gets its act together for a historic, first ever, fundraising campaign to run through December.
The campaign will be known locally as Jingle Jingle if the Catskill Mountain News, The Mountain Eagle, The Daily Star or The Watershed Post publishes this press release. If they don’t, the campaign will be called Jingle Jingle anyway.
Even though Jingle Jingle campaign manager, Chris Hensley, will gladly collect loose change from listeners who’ve been wondering what to do with their coin jars, he prefers to guide contributors to the station’s website, wioxradio.org, where a simple click on the “Donate” button can safely secure a donation.
“Originally, I was going to dig behind sofa cushions and in car seat crevices for nickels and dimes, but I was told by our accountant that that wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans. So I came up with an alternative,” Mr. Hensley figured. “Checks or credit cards.”
“Brilliant!” exclaimed Jezz Harkin, host of The Brilliant Show.”
“The reason WIOX has not traditionally pre-empted programming to beg for money on the air is that WIOX is not a traditional public radio station,” confided station manager Joe Piasek. “And we’d like to continue that non-traditional tradition.” However, that doesn’t mean WIOX doesn’t need the financial support of its listeners. “The cost to hoist our new antenna to a more lofty tower location high on a hill is no small change!”
At least one of the station’s volunteer staff members agreed. “This ‘ask’ is well worthwhile because it directly supports a dramatic increase in our regional FM coverage,” remarked Peter Mayer, host of Graffiti Dog Super Art Now! “To give you an idea of scale: The new transmitter is much more costly than a Nutty Buddy bar.”
So WIOX will not interrupt its wildly diverse mix of music and information programs for the Jingle Jingle campaign. Instead, listeners will hear the occasional sound of jingle bells on the air, which will remind them to make a donation.
There are three ways to donate:
· Click the “Donate” button at www.wioxradio.org
· Mail a check to WIOX Community Radio, PO Box 100, Roxbury NY 12474
· Come by the studios at 2335 County Highway 41 in Roxbury, NY with your coin jar
A donation in any amount is encouraged. In fact, a couple of quarters would be just fine. But persons who find themselves particularly flush are encouraged to “make it rain” for WIOX, please.
“And guess what?” acknowledged Caroline Basso, head of marketing for WSKG. “WIOX has cleverly positioned this fundraiser now—at the end of the year—just prior to non-profit donation tax deduction deadlines, and at a time when the ‘giving’ spirit is at its highest!
Just sayin’,” said Ms. Basso.
WIOX is a non-commercial educational licensee and a community partner of WSKG Public Media, a 501c3 not-for-profit organization. Most importantly, funds raised will directly support WIOX Community Radio.
For more information, listen to WIOX at 91.3 FM and on MTC Cable TV Channel 20 in the Catskills region, at wioxradio.org, or with TuneIn or the WIOX iPhone app. Listeners who can’t tear themselves away from Facebook will find WIOX there, too. Thank you for your support.