I don’t know about your business, but I have been in Christmas mode for quite some time already!  That’s because I have joined The Salvation Army’s team as Corporate Relations Coordinator.  Radiothon planning is well under way; and for the 17^th consecutive year, The Salvation Army is teaming up with Emmis Communications’ 93.1 WIBC for a three day, on-air fundraising campaign benefiting local programs and services for those in need.  To date, corporate partners and WIBC listeners have helped raise more than $1,527,412!

After volunteering with The Salvation Army and Radiothon the last three years, I am thrilled to be a full-time member of The Salvation Army’s Development Staff. To make Radiothon planning easy on me, they have put me in charge of securing sponsorships for the highest profile fundraiser we do during the Christmas season on the leading news/talk station in the city—no pressure, right?  Okay, well, there is quite a bit of pressure actually.  Thankfully, we have a fabulous team putting this extravaganza together—both inside The Salvation Army and out!

Our most dedicated radio partner to date, Emmis Communications, secured Donatos as this year’s title sponsor, and we couldn’t be more grateful.  Reach Magazine/ValPak once again signed on as the Radiothon phone bank sponsor.  Apparently, we are doing something right!  This is the third year for the sponsorship and also the third year Reach Magazine/ValPak employees will be volunteering at the WIBC studios.  Now that the two biggest sponsorships are out of the way, the rest of Radiothon should be a piece of cake, right?  Right!  Only 35 more sponsors to go…

You may not realize it, but The Salvation Army receives approximately two-thirds of our financial support during Christmas.  We work hard to make sure everything comes together, and today that is why I am asking you to help The Salvation Army.  Your sponsorship of an hour during Radiothon and/or your donation of a prize valued at $50 or more will allow us to continue to programs for men, women, and children in central Indiana, and with the need even higher, those programs are vital.

If you have any questions about how you can be involved in the WIBC Radiothon Benefiting The Salvation Army Presented by Donatos, please, do not hesitate to contact me.  I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

Merry Christmas,

For a complete list of available sponsorship opportunities,  click here.

Mel McMahon is the Corporate Relations Coordinator for The Salvation Army.  To find out how your company can donate time, treasure, and talents through Salvation Army programs and services, call her at (317) 224-1019 or email her, mel_mcmahon@usc.salvationarmy.org.

Big Joe Staysniak, co-chair of this year's WIBC Radiothon, was in studio as the 58 hour event wrapped up.

The 16th Annual WIBC Radiothon to benefit The Salvation Army wrapped up on Sunday after 58 hours of programing which encouraged listeners to pledge their support. At the end, $141,164 was raised at the event.

This year’s final total was a little behind last year’s, but it still translates to more than 31,000 meals and more than 1,500 safe nights of shelter for those in need in our community. Of course The Salvation Army would not be able to provide these needs without the generosity of everyone who called in and made a pledge. Thank you!

We also need to thank all of our sponsors: J. Wickham Consulting – Title Sponsor, Val Pak Reach – Phone Bank Sponsor, and Markey’s Rental and Staging – our Toteboard Sponsor. Also, a big thank you to our hourly sponsors: Perkins Nichols Media, Finance Center Federal Credit Union, Planned Investment, Dellen Automotive, Hurst Beans, Central Indiana Roofing and Restoration, Jocham Harden Dimicck Jackson, Northwest Kiwanis, The Mutual Fund Store, Klipsch Audio Technologies, One America, Wilson Kehoe Winningham, Ruth’s Chris, Walmart, Cartridge, Specialist Inc. Firestone, Drug and Opiate Recovery Network, and Seamless Restoration.

This year’s Radiothon Co-Chairs were Big Joe Staysniak of 1070 theFan and WIBC, and Tom Zupncic VP of Marketing of the Indianapolis Colts. Zup was able to get some great prizes this year including an autographed Peyton Manning helmet, autographed Peyton Manning football, Dwight Freeny and Reggie Wayne autographed footballs, game tickets and on lucky donor will get to lead the team out of the tunnel on the Lucas Oil Motorcycle a the January 2 Colts vs. Titans game. Our thanks to Zup and big Joe for all of their help.

Last but certainly not least, we need to thank our long time partner and friends, WIBC. For 16 years now they’ve given us hours of air-time and dedicated support to the ministries and programs of The Salvation Army. Because of your love for this community, we can again serve those who hurting.

Thank you to all for a great Radiothon and we will see you next year!

A huge thanks goes out to Seamless Restoration, LLC for coming to the plate with a last minute sponsorship for the WIBC Radiothon benefiting the Salvation Army.  Seamless Restoration, LLC helped wrap up Radiothon weekend with a generous donation and a gift to each pledge in the final hour —10% off any service offered!

Seamless Restoration, LLC understands that your home is the most important asset you have, so when you are ready to build or remodel, get yourself the best General Contractor in the business!  With 10 years experience in storm restoration, specializing in residential construction, they use the best materials available and hold ongoing training and safety seminars to ensure the producers used are up-to-date in style and technique.

This is Seamless Restoration’s first year with the WIBC Radiothon, and we look forward to many more years working together!

We appreciate WCT’s generosity and support as we set our sights on having enough pledges to provide 50,000 meals and 2,500 safe nights of shelter for Hoosiers in 2011. And by Sunday lunch, our volunteers will have put in dozens of hours to help out their neighbors in need.

Thanks to all of our generous meal sponsors for helping out this year. Know of an area restaurant or bakery that would be willing to provide breakfast either Friday, Saturday or Sunday of Radiothon (12/3-5)? If you do, have them call Kristen at 224-1019.

Got an idea for a prize package? Give Kristen a call at 224-1019.

Thanks, IU Sports Properties for your support. And, go Hoosiers!

We still have several meals left available for sponsorship. So, if you’d like to help provide a meal for about 50 or so volunteers, we’d love to speak with you! Give Kristen a call at 224-1019.

The Salvation Army is serious about using your donations to change lives. In fact, about 85 cents of every dollar you donate goes straight into programs that help your neighbors in need with food, shelter and financial assistance. With only about 15 cents left to cover all of our operations, we rely on our community to help us with expenses for events like this. And Hoosier business partners have always taken on that challenge.  Thanks to GFS Marketplace, lunch on Saturday, December 4 is covered!

We still have several meals left available for sponsorship, so if you’d like to help provide a meal for about 50 or so volunteers, we’d love to speak with you! Give Kristen a call at 224-1019.

“Sure, sponsoring Radiothon sounds like a great idea, but we can’t float that in the last month of the year.”

- or -

“Wish we would have known about this a couple of months ago. Our new budget year doesn’t start until _____.”

Well, don’t pack in the idea of sponsorship just yet. We’ve got a couple of options for you that might help you say ‘yes’ now to make a difference in Indy in 2011.

We’ll let you pay in installments! Really? Yes, really! With a goal of 50,000 meals and 2,500 nights of shelter for Hoosiers in need, we need all the help we can get. YOUR help. Give me (Kristen) a call at 224-1019 and let’s talk ’10 easy payments’ today!

Sponsorships start at just $500 and include lots of great exposure for your business or organization. We’re all over the web blogging, posting and tweeting about how awesome our partners are, so we’re sure to bring a few customers/clients your way while you’re busy “doing the most good” for your community. And hey, who couldn’t use a tax deduction during the last month of the year.

Go here to learn more about sponsorship or just give Kristen a call at 224-1019.