We appreciate WCT’s generosity and support as we set our sights on having enough pledges to provide 50,000 meals and 2,500 safe nights of shelter for Hoosiers in 2011. And by Sunday lunch, our volunteers will have put in dozens of hours to help out their neighbors in need.

Thanks to all of our generous meal sponsors for helping out this year. Know of an area restaurant or bakery that would be willing to provide breakfast either Friday, Saturday or Sunday of Radiothon (12/3-5)? If you do, have them call Kristen at 224-1019.

Got an idea for a prize package? Give Kristen a call at 224-1019.

Thanks, IU Sports Properties for your support. And, go Hoosiers!

My name is Donna. My life has been saved! This is a literal statement because the abuse from my husband had progressed to the point where he was going to kill me. And even worse than that he would have done so in front of my three children. He had never abused the children before, but the signs were all present and I knew it was just a matter of time before he started on them too.

People say, “Leave him! Go!” But where do you go? There was nowhere in the area to go, no shelters. How are you supposed to get out safely? And if you have children it becomes even more complicated. You leave on the spur of the moment whenever the opportunity becomes available to you.

Then you find out all of the shelters are full, no rooms available. I left home in the middle of the night with my three children with very few personal belongings. Who was there for us? The Salvation Army was there.

They had a room for us. In the middle of the night at 11:00pm they were there. My kids and I were finally safe. They first provided us with food, clothing, personal hygene items. After that they provided us with spiritual encouragement and hope. We stayed at The Salvation Army for several months until I was able to save up money for a safe apartment away from my abusive husband.

Currently I am still not at a place where I can give back, but when I am I will give generously so that The Salvation Army can be there for someone else in need. Thank you and God Bless.

Donna is a REAL woman whose REAL life was saved because she found refuge at our downtown shelter. Shelter that was available because people like you support our mission. The WIBC Radiothon isn’t just a fundraiser. It’s our best, most effective way to share stories like Donna’s with our community so we can gather enough support to keep those doors open.

Our goal this year is to raise enough support through Radiothon to provide 50,000 meals and 2,500 nights of shelter to Hoosiers in need in 2011. If you’d like to help, give Kristen a call at 224-1019.

(Names have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the client.  Donna* is currently enrolled in our Continuing Support Program and she continues contact with her case manager once a week.)

We still have several meals left available for sponsorship. So, if you’d like to help provide a meal for about 50 or so volunteers, we’d love to speak with you! Give Kristen a call at 224-1019.

We’ll let you pay in installments! Really? Yes, really! With a goal of 50,000 meals and 2,500 nights of shelter for Hoosiers in need, we need all the help we can get. YOUR help. Give me (Kristen) a call at 224-1019 and let’s talk ’10 easy payments’ today!

Just yesterday, we reached out to Kroger, and like their slogan, we could count on them to come through for us. This isn’t a small act of kindness. We’re anticipating a great crowd this year, so we’re talking about 1,000 or so scoops of ice cream. So, a big thanks to Kroger for stepping up to help us raise funds for our Homelessness Bites campaign that supports our Women’s and Children’s Shelter here in Indianapolis.

And don’t forget to grab lunch with your dessert….Applebee’s will be serving up roast beef or freshly grilled chicken sandwiches and chips on the side for just $5! Stop by the Ricker’s pop trailer and grab a soft drink for just $1. Thanks to our generous partners, all the proceeds from this event will help us provide shelter, life skills classes and support for women and kids who are homeless due to financial hardships or abuse. What a great motivation to ‘Eat in the Street’ on Thursday, October 7!

We’ll have plenty of booths to stop by including Adrian Orchards, Two Men and a Truck, Indiana Pacers Fan Van and more. Live music will be provided by Band Wagon. And don’t forget that coat for Coats for Kids – we’ll give you a FREE apple cobbler as your sweet reward!

We still have booth space available for just $50 or join us as a participating sponsor at our table displays for just $75. Call Kristen at 224-1019 to join us! And to learn more about how you can help us Bite Back, go to HomelessnessBites.org.

Can’t wait to hear more from camp? Stay tuned for some stories of kids whose lives have been changed through your generosity!

If you’d like to follow Bulter’s lead and become a partner for our 2010 Radiothon, give Kristen a call at 224-1019.

Thanks so much to all of our hourly and in-kind sponsors – to Emmis Communications and the amazing men and women who produced the -athon, the programmers, the personalities, just everyone who’s made it easy to call Emmis’ lobby home for the past 55 hours. We would not be able to do what we’ve done without their dedication and enthusiasm.

And here are the teary thanks, so buckle up – Thanks to our Radiothon Chair, Quinn Buckner and the Indiana Pacers. You set the tone for giving before the event went on the air! Thanks to Walmart for that incredible demonstration of support! Not only did your $100,000 bump that total, but it went a LONG way in encouraging our listeners to step up and make the calls. Thanks to our Phone Bank sponsor, ValPak and REACH magazine for your generosity and the manpower to keep those calls a’comin. And we can’t forget the folks at Markey’s Rental and Staging for the donation of our big screens – the tote boards are so vital in communicating with our phone bank and with the studio.

On behalf of all of the men, women and children we serve, THANK YOU for your support! This weekend, you’ve truly made a difference right here in Indiana!