Shannon KeoughTo aid relief efforts and increase donations from the Cabrini college radio station stepped up its contributions and held a successful event that raised over $2,100 dollars. The radio station, 89.1 WYBF FM The Burn, under the direction of Heather Shanley-Fullerton, put together a 24-hour broadcast event and dance to help the people of Haiti.
“Streaming Hope for Haiti” was held on Monday, Feb. 1 throughout the campus starting at 8 a.m. and continuing to Tuesday 8 a.m. The radio station broadcasted live during the whole day, allowing donations to be made online to Catholic Relief Services.
The idea really kicked off when the radio station realized there were no immediate efforts being made by any other organizations on campus. Then, the Federal Communication Commission granted Cabrini permission to do a 24-hour fundraiser for another non-profit on air, which is a rare occurrence for the FCC. Once that plan was decided and placed, it was a group effort within the staff of WYBF to organize the specific events that would be held throughout the day.
“It’s great that Cabrini is willing to help anyone in need, especially now that Haiti needs our help. I love how the whole campus got involved and everyone did their part to make sure we raised as much money as we could,” Danielle McLaughlin, sophomore communication major and radio staff member, said.
The staff also sold shirts during the doubleheader basketball games at $10 a piece, which went directly into the fund. To conclude the event, a “Jersey Shore” themed dance was held in the Grace Hall atrium from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. All entrance fees were also put into the fund for CRS.
With the entrance fee of $2, the staff raised about $650 in total from the dance, concluding that the dance was an absolute charitable success. The radio station is the only organization on campus that organized a formal event for Haiti.
“Being the only group on campus organizing an event, we felt as though it was necessary to respond to the issue at hand and help those suffering in Haiti,” Liz Scopelliti, promotions director of The Burn, said.
The staff of the radio station is very proud of its initiatives and hopes to start a trend that will spark ambition for other organizations and clubs to get active in this regard. This event was the first of the spring semester that really brought a substantial turnout to benefit those beyond the campus community.
“The ‘Jersey Shore’ dance was the most fun we as a school had in a while. It was for a good cause, and it was definitely something I won’t forget,” Jacky McDermott, sophomore education major, said.
Cait Friel, assistant promotions director, shared how hard WYBF worked in the attempts of creating a fun-filled day, and how satisfied and relieved they are with the finished product.
“We made about $2,100 and 90 percent of that being from Cabrini students. We were ecstatic to say the least!” Friel said.
Currently the administration is trying to put a plan into action that will allow the faculty and staff to match the amount raised to increase the total amount of donations. Fullerton explained how remarkable the totals were just coming from student contribution, but would love to get the whole staff involved, in the hopes of reaching their ultimate goal of about $5,000.
“It was truly amazing how the Cabrini family came together in such a short amount of time to piece together a fundraiser to help the devastated Haiti. Cabrini truly shows what the word family and community outreach means,” Christine Adolf, assistant director of Loqation, said.
