On Thursday, November 8, WAMC/Northeast Public Radio held a special fund drive, opening up the phone banks to raise support for the victims of Superstorm Sandy. For eight hours, WAMC listeners called in non-stop with pledges for the American Red Cross and when the dust settled, a total of $240,000 was raised and pledges were still coming in.
“Once again, WAMC listeners showed what real community is all about,” said WAMC’s President and CEO Alan Chartock. “From the volunteers on the phones to the people who brought food, to everyone who called, people’s generosity was astounding. Many of the callers had connections with people who were directly impacted by Sandy, others remembered how the Red Cross helped them when Irene struck, I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and incredibly proud of the WAMC family.”
WAMC applied for and received a special waiver from the Federal Communications Commission, allowing the station to hold a one day fund drive to raise funds for an entity other than itself. The station has, in the past, held special drives for victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Irene in the US, the deadly 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti.