An integral part of being the number one high school radio station in the country is having the best equipment possible. With this goal – and the knowledge that top-of-the-line radio equipment doesn’t come cheap – in mind, WWPT, the Staples High School radio station, held a “radiothon” fundraiser last weekend in order to generate funds.
“We particularly had the fundraiser in an effort to raise money to buy a new mixer for our remote broadcast,” said WWPT Co-Advisor Mike Zito. In addition to the new switcher, Sports Department Co-Director Jacob Chernok ’13 added that the department will be using any remainder to improve and upgrade other equipment and thus improve the quality of the broadcast’s themselves.
The station raised $3,000, averaging an impressive $500 an hour over the six hours that the fundraiser was held. According to Zito, this is enough for the desired equipment.
“The fundraiser was a major success,” said WWPT Co-President Ben Greenberg ’12. “We were able to set the record for most money raised at any WWPT fundraiser, which speaks volumes about the hard work put in by everyone involved with the station, especially our faculty advisors.”
Given the close proximity to the Super Bowl, the fundraiser’s theme was Super Bowl halftime acts, meaning the music played ranged from Ella Fitzgerald, who headlined the break in 1972, to Madonna, who performed this year. Student disk jockeys manned the airwaves while other WWPT member’s took calls and pledges from supporters.
Despite this year’s outstanding results, Greenberg still foresees one change that could lead to even higher fundraising.
“Obviously, after this year’s record-breaking success there will not be many changes to the fundraising strategy, but we do plan to more effectively utilize social media sites going forward,” Greenberg said.
Still, despite any changes that may or may not occur next year, the fundraiser will continue to be one of the highlights of the station’s many activities.
“The fundraiser is by far my favorite part of the year for WWPT,” said Greenberg’s Co-President, Ana Horn ’12. It’s one of those times where we’re really made aware of how popular WWPT is, because the number of callers that we get is ridiculous. You can tell that the community really cares about the station, and that means a lot to us.
