The Radiothon was set up in 2015 when Jo from the radio office asked the Breakfast Show if they would consider broadcasting for 24 hours. This challenge was duly accepted and the Radiothon was born. For the first 2 years we raised money to help the Pirates Charity Premiere and their charities. When the Premiere stopped in 2016 we decided to keep the fundraising going by setting up The Jacques Sasson Foundation. Jacques will best be remembered for his invention of the Pirates Adventure show in Mallorca and employed Richie in 1994 and he has worked there ever since. In 2019 we decided to extend the hours of broadcasting from 24 to 36 hours starting at 07.00 on Friday morning and going all the way to 19.00 on Saturday evening.
The following charities have benefitted from our previous Radiothons;
2015: Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, The Paediatric Ward of Son Espases Hospital, Salvation Army, Shambhala Foundation.
That year we raised, 18,100.20€.
2016: Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, The Paediatric Ward of Son Espases Hospital, Calvia Lions, Help 4 Heroes.
That year we raised, 24,474.18€.
2017: Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, Son Espases Intensive Care Unit, SOS Animal Mallorca, Fundacion Nazareth, Club Vidalba.
That year we raised, 23,384.60€.
2018: Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, Son Espases Intensive Care Unit, Asociacion Ondine, Feliz Animal Andratx.
That year we raised 14,878.50€.
2019: Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, Son Espases Intensive Care Unit, ASPANOB, ASDICA.
That year we raised 25,363.11€.
2020: Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, Son Espases Intensive Care Unit, Yachting Gives Back, Cancer Support Group Mallorca.
Last year even in lockdown we managed to raise our record amount an amazing 30,948.82€!
The total raised in our Radiothons so far is 137,149.41€.
This year we have two targets, one is to pass through the 150,000€ barrier and two if possible is to beat last year’s record total. We can only do this with your fantastic support.
Our 2021 Radiothon Charities are Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, Son Espases Intensive Care & Pediatric Unit, Yachting Gives Back, Santa Ponsa Food Bank, SOS Calvia.
GOSH: Our relationship with GOSH goes back to 2004 from my work with Pirates. With the donation from last years Radiothon, we are proud to say we have now passed the three quarters of a million euros mark. The total raised for them is 756,541.70.€ and in that time the money has been put to many different projects including a Pirates treatment room. More recently the money has been spent in four main areas: rebuilding and redevelopment of the Hospital; research (GOSH are currently embarking on a 5-year research strategy to target rare diseases in childhood); latest and replacement medical equipment; parent accommodation and support services for families and patients.
Your donations can:
- Provide family accommodation so parents and carers can stay close by while their children undergo treatment
- Fund vital services including the hospital Play team which helps patients understand their treatment and cope with separation from peers and siblings
- Support social work and multi-faith chaplaincy teams who provide much needed family advice and support now and in the months ahead
Son Espases: We have been working with Son Espases for 6 years now and in that time we have raised 33,118.10€. This year we are helping the only Child Intensive Care Unit in the Balearics and the Pediatric Ward. Our first donation to the Paediatric Ward of Son Espases Hospital was used the money to redecorate the doors of each room with cartoon characters making them look less like hospital bedrooms. Something we learned very early on our many visits to Great Ormond Street was the biggest challenge was to make the hospitals look less like hospitals so the children could relax. The second year we helped redecorate a new pirate ship-themed CAT scan in the Paediatric Department. Some 350m² of decorative vinyl wrapping gave Son Espases entry into a very select group of hospitals to implement such an idea, alongside the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York, the Hospital Municipal Jesus in Rio de Janeiro and Hospital San Juan de Dios in Barcelona. In each case they’ve proven that this fantasy décor creates a warm, inviting, relaxing atmosphere and reduces levels of anxiety – making life easier for patients and professionals alike. Over the last three years we have been helping the intensive care unit firstly with murals above the beds of the children. And for the last 2 years we have helped build a rest room for the parents of the children being treated by the intensive care unit.
The two hospitals we work with every year and then we pick two or three other charities. With the onset of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown things have gone from bad to worse on the island. Many people are struggling and not the people you expect either. All the charities tell me most of the people they are looking after are people who have lost their jobs particularly in the tourist industry. There is also a lot of people out there that need help but aren’t asking for it as their own pride says they shouldn’t. If you are one of those people please don’t be afraid to reach out, there’s no shame in this. With all this in mind we felt that we had to help the food banks as part of the Radiothon this year. Here are the three that we are helping.
Yachting Gives Back is a registered charity helping to alleviate poverty and hunger in Mallorca. They collect non-perishable food, personal hygiene and cleaning products as well as clothing, bedding, toys and household items in good condition from yachts, marine service companies and the wider community. These are all distributed to local homeless shelters, soup kitchens, food banks and children’s charities. One of the associations they work with Associacio Tardor in Palma are feeding meals to 600 plus daily and providing daily provisions to another 600 people too.
SOS Calvia are a citizen’s initiative that thanks to their collaborators, such as our food collection points, people who donate food and unconditional support from the citizens of Calvia. They distribute food every week to families who, due to the crisis generated by covid, need help to be able to feed themselves in this sad situation.
Calvià united in one direction that is that no family in the municipality should go hungry. They started in June last year and from nothing they are looking after around 125 families which equates to around 325 people.
Santa Ponsa Food Bank, Set up by volunteers from Santa Ponsa Community Church, Santa Ponsa Food Bank was created to meet an urgent need in the community caused by the COVID-19 crisis. They happily serve and support those facing food insecurity – often for the first time. Like SOS Calvia, from a standing start they are now looking after 55 families in Santa Ponsa and 25 families in Paguera. Which equates to around 200 people.
How can you help us to achieve our goals and help our charities?
Sponsor an hour of the Radiothon and be on air with us.
Challenge us to do something for a donation.
Challenge yourself to do something for donations.
Offer an auction or raffle prize.
Buy a raffle ticket.
Request a song for a minimum of 5€.
Food donations.
Just Donate!
I’ll keep you updated as we get closer to the event.
Take care everyone and enjoy your Weekend!
Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance!
Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com
Dad Taxi Mallorca 