Wednesday, 4 February 2005 :: 12:12 pm

WYCD Raises $802,812 for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com

99.5 WYCD Broadcasts the Radiothon LIVE from Oakland Mall.

Each and every year, 99.5 WYCD hosts their annual Country Cares for Kids Radiothon. All of the proceeds that are raised are given to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. They are located in Memphis, TN.

Detroit's Best Country hosted their LIVE radiothon from the center court of Oakland Mall in Troy. The broadcast took place for two days from Thursday, Feb. 9th until Friday, Feb. 10th. Volunteers were on hand to answer the telephones and accept the donations. The entire air staff was there to encourage listeners to dig deep and help out this worthy cause.

The radio station encouraged it's listeners to become a "Partner in Hope." Those are listeners who donate the same amount of money each month for an entire year. It is usually $25 per month totaling $300 per year or more if you choose. They can be extended for another year during the radiothon or started for the first time.

Everyone who became a Partner in Hope receives a WYCD commemorative t-shirt. Each hour, there was an incentive for your to donate. Some of the incentives include autographed guitars by country stars, an autographed poster by Faith Hill, tickets to see Keith Urban at the Breslin Center and tickets to the Detroit Pistons.

I had the opportunity to interview Linda Lee. She is the co-host of the Edwards & Lee afternoon drive show on 99.5 WYCD. Lee explains, "St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, relies solely on public donations. After touring the hospital and learning, how all their research benefits children with life threatening diseases all over the world, I knew we had to do everything we can to help generate funds to continue the research and find cures to save these kids."

WYCD contacted two country stars to help with the radiothon. Clint Black and Hal Ketchum were on hand to answer the phones and collect donations. On Thursday night, Clint Black hosted a special concert called the "Black Tie Event." Linda Lee describes it, "This event will be held on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006 at the Melting Pot in Troy, to benefit St. Jude. Attendees will have dinner, meet & greet and a photo opportunity with Clint Black." The event became sold out very fast.

What is the best way to encourage people to give money to this worthy cause? Lee answers, "By educating people about St. Jude, and speaking from the heart. They are the largest, children's cancer research hospital in the entire world."

St. Jude's Research Hospital was founded by Danny Thomas. In Detroit, we have a local connection to him because he was born in Deerfield, MI. He came to Detroit to find a job in show business. One of his first jobs here was to be a singer on the radio show titled "The Happy Hour Club."

Mr. Thomas wanted to be an entertainer but he wasn't very successful. What was else could he do? Danny Thomas found relief in player. He knelt in a Detroit church before the statue of St. Jude (patron saint of hopeless) with only seven dollars and begged. If he was going to become an entertainer, he promised to build a shrine in the name of St. Jude. Less than a year later, the dream came true and he was making money. He later won a Congressional Gold medal for his work.

What does St. Jude do? They are a research hospital located in Memphis, Tennessee. They do laboratory and clinical research to find cures to catastrophic diseases that affect children. Much of the research leads to discoveries that lead to cures or new treatments. When they find a cure, they will pass the information to local hospitals around the country. Some of the work also helps adult patients as well.

Right now, there is a 90% cure rate for patients at St. Jude. In past years, it was 75%, 80% and 85%. You can see how much it has improved over the years. They are currently working on a new treatment for patients with diabetes.

This year, 99.5 WYCD collected $802,812. It was the most money raised since 2001. Over the past six years, the radio station has raised an unprecedented $3.5 million for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

Linda Lee adds, "Thanks to all who support St. Jude and may God bless you and yours!"

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com

Volunteers are on hand to answer telephones for people pledging money.

PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com

The cause is St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Volunteers are taking time out of their busy schedules to spend times answering telephones.

Click here to donate online now.

Congratulations to 99.5 WYCD For Raising $802,812 for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in 2006.

Sources:

99.5 FM WYCD Radio - http://www.wycd.com/

St. Jude Research Hospital - http://www.stjude.org/