Frederick MD Radio: WFRE Raises $610k+ For St. Jude

Country radio station 99.9 WFRE raised more than $610,000 during its annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids Radiothon last week, surpassing its donation total from last year’s fundraiser by nearly $60,000.

The News-Post reports WFRE has participated in the Country Cares for St. Jude Kids Radiothon since 2006 and has raised more than $7 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during the past 18 years. This year’s total was the highest during those 18 years.

St. Jude treats childhood cancers and pediatric diseases and aims to push the overall childhood cancer survival rate to 100%, according to its website. Families who receive care at St. Jude are not charged for treatment, travel, housing or food.

Volunteers from Team WFRE, the station’s fundraising arm, answered phones throughout the event. They asked listeners to become Partners in Hope and commit to donating monthly to St. Jude. People who already were Partners in Hope could also call in to renew their status.

Last year, the radiothon raised about $553,000, according to WFRE Program Director Andy Webb, and the staff thought that would’ve been the event’s peak.

“We just have the best listeners anywhere. We’re such a small market compared to D.C. or Baltimore,” he said. “Frederick is ... the salt of the Earth, but we also have the biggest hearts on the Earth, and they just come through every year.”

WFRE broadcasts in four states and Washington, D.C., according to Webb. He said some contributors to the fundraiser came from West Virginia, Virginia and Pennsylvania.