WHYY Members Support Hurricane Katrina Survivors in the Philadelphia Region With More Than $62,000 Contribution

WHYY Members Support Hurricane Katrina Survivors in the Philadelphia Region With More Than $62,000 Contribution

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- WHYY and more than 4,700 of its members joined together in a remarkable effort to provide financial aid and community services to former Gulf Coast residents who relocated to Philadelphia in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

More than $62,000 were raised during the WHYY TV12 September Membership Drive to support the relief efforts of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross, and to sponsor special services in conjunction with Project Brotherly Love, Philadelphia's relief effort to assist hurricane survivors temporarily living in local shelters.

WHYY President and CEO William J. Marrazzo handed nearly $56,000 to Tom Foley, CEO of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross, during WHYY's December Membership Drive. Immediately following the disaster, WHYY also provided approximately $6,200 worth of services to Project Brotherly Love.

According to WHYY's Marrazzo, "As we approached our September on-air TV membership drive, Gulf Coast residents were in the midst of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. WHYY had an obligation to help those victims who relocated to the Philadelphia region. We elected to earmark ten percent of members' contributions during our September Membership Drive to a Safe Haven Fund for victims displaced to our region. Today, we are proud of our members who contributed to WHYY's Safe Haven Fund, and we are honored to give this check of $55,972.32 to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross."

"The American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania thanks WHYY and its members for their generous contributions to hurricane relief," said the Red Cross' Foley. "This money will help to relieve suffering and provide financial assistance and emotional care for Hurricane Katrina victims."

In addition to WHYY's financial support of the local Red Cross chapter, WHYY also worked with the City of Philadelphia to assist hurricane survivors living in local shelters by holding a Family Fun Day, as well as encouraging Katrina survivors to share their family histories as part of a digital history project, "Tales of Hope." Each person will receive copies of their interview on DVD, and their stories are also available on WHYY's Web site, http://www.whyy.org/.

In the days and weeks after Hurricane Katrina, WHYY TV12 and 91FM continued to provide its audience with the national and regional news and information programming they rely on. "Delaware Tonight," the only nightly public affairs program devoted to the news of the First State, traveled to Jackson, Mississippi, with the Delaware National Guard to file on-the-scene reports. In addition, a WHYY-TV story about a displaced family who relocated to Newark, Delaware, caught the attention of New Castle County legislators, who vowed to provide the family with housing.

Source: WHYY-TV

CONTACT: Anna Christopher, +1-215-351-2066 or Daneil Mazone,
+1-215-351-3316, both of WHYY

Web site: http://www.whyy.org/

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