BLAST FROM THE PAST: Annual radiothon takes to the airwaves
EDITOR’S NOTE: BLAST FROM THE PAST is a weekly article where we turn back the clock and see what was on the front page of our local newspapers years ago.
This unchanged article in particular ran on the front page of the Nov. 25, 1998, edition of the Shoshone News-Press. If you remember this story, or other BLAST FROM THE PAST articles, let us know by writing us or commenting online!
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By DON SAUER
Former Staff Writer
SILVER VALLEY — The airwaves will crackle with the sound of people helping people on Dec. 11 as the annual Silver Valley Christmas Radiothon will be held.
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., volunteers will man the phones at KWAL Radio in Osburn to take donations. Funds raised will go to help needy families throughout the valley, according to radiothon organizer Marcia Wingfield. Donations to the event will be used to support the valley’s Christmas funds, Wingfield said. This year, the funds include the Judy Lavergne Fund, the Dave Smith Memorial Fund and the Mullan Tree of Sharing.
The money collected from the radiothon is used primarily to purchase food vouchers for needy families, Wingfield said, adding that the need for assistance has been great.
Last year, $11,126 was raised and Wingfiled said and if the need increases this year, that total will need to be matched or bettered.
“Last year a total of $9,636 worth of the food vouchers were redeemed, all at local food stores,” Wingfield said. “So if the need increases this year, you can see we would have to at least match that amount to keep up.”
She added that the money that was left over from last year was divided between the funds to be used as seed money for this year’s drive.
The food vouchers are given out to families with the amount based on the number of people in the family, Wingfield said.
“There may not be enough to get them everything,” she said. “But it is enough to get them the type of meal that many of us simply take for granted every year.”
Organizers are urging groups, organizations, offices or even individuals to challenge others to make donations to the fund to help get more people involved in this cause.
“We’ve been challenging each other here in the courthouse every year,” Wingfiled, who is Shoshone County Clerk, said. “And it works very well because we keep many of the same people involved every year and hopefully we can bring in some new ones.”
Wingfield said that the radiothon has always received a tremendous boost Dave Smith Motors every year and the goal of the radiothon organizers is to match and surpass the generous Dave Smith donations.
Volunteers to man the phones are also an important part of the radiothon, Wingfield said.
Wingfield added that she hopes to have enough people on hand to make sure people only have to work a couple of hours.
“But a lot of times people get caught up in doing this and they just keep going,” she said. “It really can be a lot of fun and you are doing something that really helps others.”
To donate to the drive, call KWAL on the day of the radiothon or drop checks off at the radio station or at the clerk’s office at the Shoshone County Courthouse in Wallace.
Also, checks and donations may be mailed to the clerk’s office at 700 Bank St., Suit 120 in Wallace.