R10 million raised as Mansfield turns 40

Mansfield and the team at 94.7 are certainly no strangers to the community. Their objective of raising R1 million per year for charity has been exceeded in the 6th year of The Rude Awakening.

"We have fabulous opportunities to do great things for the community thanks to our listeners, our advertisers and friends. The money we've managed to raise is simply because of the huge heart of Joburg-our listeners just make it happen, every time," says an elated Mansfield.

One such initiative, which is indelibly imprinted on the minds of listeners throughout Gauteng, is RAW's "Christmas Wish" project. In the first year, the station received over 28, 000 e-mails and faxes from listeners during the first two weeks of December 2001.

With the help of loyal advertisers and listeners, the station made hundreds of wishes come true, from getting cellular phones and running shoes to importing hearing aids and securing a tonsil extraction for a little boy. This past Christmas Wish project exceeded the first with over 33, 000 e-mails and faxes as advertisers, listeners and the station dug deep to make wishes come true.

94.7 also worked closely with the Children's Haematology and Oncology Clinics (CHOC) to run a "12-hour radiothon" to raise funds for the Children's Cancer Wards at the Johannesburg General and Baragwaneth Hospitals. An unprecedented R3, 8 million has been banked to date. With pledges totaling R4, 2 million.

In Woodside Sanctuary - a multi-racial and multi-cultural home for severely intellectually challenged children, 94.7 Highveld Stereo found a charity truly worthy of support. Facing a very real danger of closing down due to lack of resources, RAW made an appeal to listeners to support their annual raffle, raising R1 million.

As Mansfield would say, Joburgers came to the fore once again, this time when the team embarked on a drive to ensure that every police dog in the Gauteng Dog Unit would be outfitted with a bulletproof vest. Over R950, 000 was raised thanks to listeners and corporates, ensuring that 350 dogs received vests.

Three thousand spinners sweated for the CHOC and Hospice Witwatersrand when they participated in 94.7's Spinnathon. An amount of R 400, 000 was raised from the pledge line and the Spinnathon ensuring that CHOC and Hospice Witwatersrand are able to conduct their work in the community.

In another initiative, listeners would recall the hysterics around the station liberating The "Big Brother" Garden Gnome. The Gnome in question was returned after the Rude Awakening Team managed to raise the ransom: R300, 000 for charity (R150, 000 for the SPCA Farm Division, and R150, 000 for the Nelson Mandela's Children's Fund).

Pre-Cycle Challenge, the Rude Awakening team along with 94.7's Marketing, Sales and Productions staff and this past year, pro-cyclists from the HSBC Team and the Microsoft Team as well as Pick n'Pay staff took to the streets to sell "Homeless Talk". The initiative began over three years ago to raise funds to establish a safe day-care facility for youngsters of the street sellers of Homeless Talk. Today, the initiative helps the Crèche keep its doors open. Last year, the RAW team, staff and pro-cyclists manning street corners managed to raise over R35, 000.

During the extremely popular Discovery 94.7 Bed Race (a Midrand Round Table initiative) over 280 beds were entered and approximately R250, 000 was raised. Two truckloads brimming with toys, books and clothing were also collected.

In the third annual 94.7 and Montecasino "Roll the Dice Promotion" over R78 000 was raised for The Johannesburg Child Welfare Society.

Also fresh in the minds of listeners is an initiative Mansfield spearheaded to boost the dwindling food stocks at Gauteng SPCA branches. This was at a time when The "Big Brother" housemates were requesting a pet in the house. The appeal resulted in the collection of 23 tonnes of cat and dog food, facilitated by Pick 'n Pay Supermarkets and Hypermarkets.

In another instance, the station was delighted with the opportunity to sponsor an attempt by the SA National Blood Transfusion Service to break the Guinness Book of World Records simultaneous blood collection. A total of 3309 units of useable blood were collected during the twelve hour World Record Blood Drive, beating the previous record of 3155 units. The drive highlighted the very serious need for blood donors.

Such initiatives that Mansfield and the team have driven also includes the station's appeal to their listeners to help save the life of 4 year old Kate Tomlinson. She had a rare form of acute Myeloid Leukaemia. A total of 4,000 donors responded to the appeal over two days. Each paid R200 towards the overall cost of R600 to process the vials of blood. Each donation of R200 went to the Darren Serebro Bone Marrow Foundation and donor's names were placed on the Worldwide Bone Marrow Registry.

Over 2, 500 people attended this years' 94.7 Easter Treasure Hunt raising approximately R230, 000 at the gate for entry. The entire amount went to the hosts, the Johannesburg Zoo (a section 21 company).

Most recently, Sam's Baby Shower motivated listeners to donate baby clothes-the result of which weighed in at over 3 tons! These clothes were donated to Johannesburg Child Welfare.

Says Mansfield: "It is not without extraordinary people that these great things happen. On behalf of the entire team at Joburg's All Heart Radio, thank you for making the past six years so special for fellow Joburgers and the nation as a whole."