Mix 92.9 personalities Anna Marie Ritter and Rick Marino will host the radiothon to raise money for VCH. (photo by Dana Johnson)
Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital takes to airwaves to raise money
It is what Barbara Bridges calls “a marriage made in heaven.” She’s referring to the upcoming radiothon by radio station Mix 92.9 for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Celebrities will join Mix 92.9 personalities Rick Marino and Anna Marie Ritter on Aug. 24, 25 and 26 to ask the community to support Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital (VCH).
Bridges, programming director for Mix 92.9, said the station was looking for a way to give back to the community.
“I can’t think of a better way than to support our very own local Children’s Hospital,” she said.
The event will mark a first for both parties. Neither Mix 92.9 nor VCH has attempted a radiothon, but Bridges is confident the community will support the event. To prepare, she went to Akron, Ohio to watch a radiothon in progress.
“We’ve got it down and ours is going to be great,” she said.
The radiothon will be broadcast live from Cool Springs Galleria where Marino and Ritter will man the microphones from 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug. 24, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug. 25 and 26. Listeners can drop by the center stage area at the mall to watch the proceedings and donate. Bridges said talent is currently being lined up, including country singers, Christian artists and other music performers.
Live broadcasts will also be made from VCH, where Bridges and on-air personality Bryan Sargent will interview doctors, nurses and patients about the hospital and the care provided.
A unique part of the radiothon will be the “Change Bandit” event, which encourages people to give their loose change to VCH.
The event will end on Aug. 22 when participants are asked to bring the change to a celebration to be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Airport Marriott in the Ballroom.
The bash will include live entertainment, food, and a large screen TV showing scenes from the Children’s Hospital.
“It’s just our way of saying thanks to all the people who have collected change,” Bridges said. “And of course we want people to bring their bags of money.”
The Change Bandit is sponsored by Team Chevrolet of Smyrna, Tennessee.
For more information on the radiothon or how to become a Change Bandit, call 615-322-4814 or visit the VCH Development Web site at www.helpvch.org.