June 15, 2020
Local radio broadcasters are dedicated to serving the public, and for many stations, community service is at the core of their mission. Each year, 10 NAB member stations are honored with Crystal Radio Awards recognizing their commitment to serving their communities and the vital role radio plays across America. This year’s honorees exemplify radio stations’ extraordinary year-round public service efforts.
In 2019, WSUN focused on mental health with their "Out of the Darkness" charity walk, aimed at preventing suicide, as well as helping pets get adopted from local shelters by showcasing each week a pet that needed a good home.
WSGW raised over $75,000 dollars for two homeless shelters through their summer relief campaign and their Christmastime radiothon.
In 2019, WREW raised a total of $791,258 through events that included honoring 100 breast cancer survivors, collecting food for needy families at Thanksgiving and providing Christmas gifts for kids at their local Children's Hospital.
When a local recovery center for women needed funding, WKRQ hosted an ’80s-themed party, donated $16,000 to the center and devoted over 15,000 minutes of airtime. The station spent thousands of community service hours to help raise $5.5 million for Cincinnati charities in 2019.
WHUR provided wrap-around services to 3,000 homeless persons, provided Thanksgiving meals to 13,000, gave away 1,100 toys and provided 425 new coats for low-income youth during their 2019 Season of Giving.
WDNS not only collected much needed school supplies for underprivileged children in their listening area through their Stuff the Bus event, but also provided over $30,000 in classroom and teacher grants for their 10 local school districts.
KVTY organized a week-long community blood drive, collected thousands of pounds of food for their local food banks and raised money for cancer patients seeking treatment in their area.
KUBL on-air personalities donated over 45,000 pounds of non-perishable food items to their local food bank and one on-air personality walked 84 miles in five days, raising thousands of dollars for the local Shriners Hospital for Children.
KRWM has pledged their commitment to serve the many nonprofits and charitable events in Seattle, including walks, runs, drives, galas and benefits through strong community involvement from their entire team.
KRMG raised over $325,000 in 52 hours for Make-A-Wish Oklahoma, making their efforts the organization's single biggest fundraising campaign in the state.
The Crystal Heritage Award recognizes radio stations that have won a total of five Crystal Radio Awards for exceptional year-round community service efforts. KCVM was recognized this year as the ninth station ever to have received this award. The station’s motto is “Service to Listeners, Clients and Communities,” and this achievement demonstrates that they strive every day to live up to that charge.
Your local broadcasters are on the front lines providing critical support to their communities, even as they struggle from a steep decline in advertising revenue. Read more stories about broadcasters’ public service at BroadcastPublicService.org.
More than 2.47 million American jobs depend on broadcasting, and the local broadcast radio and television industry - and the businesses that depend on it - generate $1.17 trillion annually for the nation's economy.
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