MIX’s Vanna Fox (l to r), Will Patnaud & Jami Caskey help unload BackPack Buddies donations from a generous MIX listener.
MIX 101.5 listeners once again came through in a big way for the station’s annual BackPack Buddies Food Drive.
“The day was a complete success,” said WRAL-FM Vice President & General Manager Ardie Gregory. “We raised $65,500 and over 8,000 pounds of food for Inter-Faith Food Shuttles BackPack Buddies program. Once again the combination of a dedicated staff and an awesome listening audience has proven to be a winning combination!!”
MIX staffers manned two donation locations, Brier Creek Commons and Crossroads Plaza, during the day on Wednesday, August 20, 2014. Inter-Faith Food Shuttle staffers and volunteers helped load donated food items and backpacks while monetary donations came in online. MIX personalities made live on-air pitches and conducted interviews to promote the event to help feed hungry children in the Triangle.
One such personality was MIX’s afternoon host and Assistant Programming/ Music Director Jim Kelly. Mother Nature delivered a late-afternoon surprise to him and the team collecting at Brier Creek.
Even the rain couldn’t dampen MIX’s 2014 BackPack Buddies Food Drive.
“Things went very well until about 5:30, that’s when the monsoon hit!” said Kelly. “I ended up backing up my van to the broadcast location, and Jill from the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and I did the last break from the back of my van as thunder rumbled and lightning was striking. If you listen closely to the final break you can hear the thunder. It was crazy but a lot of fun!”
Rain or shine, Kelly enjoys helping with the BackPack Buddies Food Drive each year because it’s for the kids.
“It’s sad to think that there are children (and families) across the Triangle that don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” he said. “This is just one small step in the battle against hunger and I’m glad I can be a part of it.”
BackPack Buddies provides children from food-insecure homes with healthy weekend meals during the school year. The children, selected by school principals, guidance counselors, and supervisors of various after school programs, receive a backpack containing six balanced meals and two healthy snacks at the end of every week. Local corporations, civic groups, and individuals help collect and pack bags with kid-friendly non-perishable food.
WRAL-FM is proud to have made the MIX 101.5 BackPack Buddies Food Drive a tradition each August.
“I’ve said it so many times that it seems like a cliché but every time we ask our listeners for help, they find a way to step up and help the community,” said Kelly. “It makes me proud to live here.”
Thanks to WRAL-FM for these capcom photos.
