Power 99 awards free airtime to local charity

Mar 8, 2017 | 1:37 PM

Local radio station Power 99, bestowed its annual Community Airtime Award to a long-serving Prince Albert children’s charity.

Natasha Thomson, development coordinator with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, said as a not-for-profit, they’d never be able to afford airtime otherwise. The radio spots will allow her organization to create a marketing strategy and recruit volunteers.

“The more children that we can match with mentors, the better,” she said.

Thomson said the services provided by Big Brothers and Big Sisters are important because mentoring contributes to a child’s mental health, educational gains, and even employability as an adult.

Kevin Einarson, sales manager with Power 99, said the airtime awards are the station’s way of giving back to the community.

“What we did, about six years ago, with this idea we’d give away two $75,000 amounts of airtime to help [not-for-profits] get that message out there,” he said, adding the time amounts to roughly six months’ worth of advertisements.

The airtime comes also with a meeting from an in-house strategist to help each winner maximize their radio time.

Einarson said Big Brothers and Big Sisters was chosen this year because the organization needed not only to get its message out, but to take on more members.

 

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