The Salvation Army Celebrates 25 Years of Bed & Bread Club Radiothon
Radiothon returns to News/Talk 760 WJR-AM on Feb. 24 with Dick Purtan joining in the broadcast
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit's 25th annual Bed & Bread Club Radiothon will air live on News/Talk 760 WJR-AM on Friday, Feb. 24. The Radiothon is the No. 1 source of financial support for the nonprofit's Bed & Bread Program.
The Bed & Bread Program serves 5,000 meals to the hungry each day. That's nearly 1.7 million meals every year to men, women and children that would otherwise go without. In addition, The Bed & Bread Program provides nearly 500 homeless individuals shelter each night. That's nearly 167,000 nights of shelter annually.
In fact, from October to December 2011, The Salvation Army saw an 11 percent increase in the number of meals served off of the Bed & Bread trucks.
The Radiothon raised over $1.5 million for The Salvation Army in 2011, its first year on WJR. Once again in 2012, WJR's on-air personalities Paul W. Smith, Frank Beckmann and Mitch Albom will lead the charge against hunger and homelessness, broadcasting in shifts from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., from Oakland Mall in Troy.
Additional members of the WJR broadcast team, along with Detroit radio legend Dick Purtan, will join the co-hosts for portions of the broadcast throughout the day. Purtan, the "father" of the Bed & Bread Club Radiothon, retired from radio shortly after hosting the 23rd annual Radiothon in 2010.
Over its quarter century, the Radiothon has grown to become the largest single-market, single-day radio fundraiser in the country, and has raised more than $25 million to provide food and shelter to those in need.
Millions of individuals in metro Detroit have received aid because of this important fundraiser, which began in 1988 on WKQI-FM when Purtan teamed up with his longtime producer Gene Taylor to seek donations for The Salvation Army. In the late 1980s, Taylor was already a volunteer driver for The Salvation Army's then-lone mobile feeding truck, which roamed the streets of Detroit, seeking out and helping the hungry and homeless.
The first event lasted just four hours and raised several thousand dollars. It changed to its current 16-hour format the following year.
"I don't have to tell you that times are still tough out there, and the upcoming Bed & Bread Club Radiothon is one of our most important fundraisers in helping us provide food and shelter to the men, women and children of metro Detroit 365 days a year," said Major Mark Anderson, general secretary and metro Detroit area commander of The Salvation Army Eastern Michigan Division.
"For just $120, or $10 a month, you can join the Bed & Bread Club and help feed a person for an entire year," continued Anderson. "Plus, you'll be joining a club of thousands of metro Detroiters that has been on the front lines of fighting the war on hunger and homelessness for more than 20 years. It's truly amazing what people can do when they join together to make a difference."
While other Bed & Bread Programs do exist throughout the country, The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit's Bed & Bread Program is unique in that it also serves people via mobile soup kitchens. Detroit's mobile soup kitchens are The Salvation Army's only traveling Bed & Bread units.
The Bed & Bread trucks leave from The Salvation Army's Acres of Hope campus in Detroit 365 days a year to visit many designated Bed & Bread stops throughout the day. The Bed & Bread program's mobile feeding trucks also assist clients in receiving critical social services from The Salvation Army.
"The Salvation Army helps feed and shelter thousands of individuals in metro Detroit through its Bed & Bread Club program. At WJR, we've seen firsthand how our listener's donations have made a real impact in the lives of so many of our neediest neighbors. I encourage everyone to give to this year's Radiothon and help WJR and The Salvation Army continue to work to solve the problem of hunger and homelessness in our community," said News/Talk 760 WJR General Manager Tom O'Brien.
To join the Bed & Bread Club by making a tax-deductible donation, please call (248) 528-0760 or click on www.wjr.com.
Founded by William and Catherine Booth in London, England in 1865, The Salvation Army is a faith-based, non-profit organization dedicated to serving people in need without discrimination. For more information about The Salvation Army, or to donate, please call 877-SAL-MICH, or visit us at www.salmich.org.