Philly Radio: John DeBella Vets Radiothon Raises $222K+

WMGK-FM/Philadelphia presented the 17th Annual John DeBella Veterans Radiothon on Friday, June 16 from 6am to 6pm. The event raised an all-time high of $222,749 to benefit the Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service Center (VMC). Throughout the broadcast, DeBella encouraged listeners to make call-in or online donations. In addition, listeners were able to participate in a series of online eBay auctions on the station website to bid on a variety of items.

These included Bruce Springsteen pit tickets, a pair of three-day passes for the Power Trip Festival, Guns N' Roses VIP Experience tickets, autographed items from Taylor Swift, Bryce Harper and more. One of the highlights of the radiothon came when ACME Markets donated $30,000 to the VMC as part of their support of the event.

Over the past 17 years, John DeBella has raised over $2,000,000 to benefit the non-profit organization. This year's event marked DeBella's final year hosting as he prepares to officially retire from his radio career on Friday, June 30.

"With this being my last major event at WMGK and the last of my career, I went for the lofty goal of breaking $200,000," said DeBella. "All I could do was hope, knowing that the best we ever did was $176,000. I was shocked at the final total and am incredibly grateful to my listeners. I have been blessed with the greatest audience in radio. This money is going to help a lot of Vets."