News/Talk 760 WJR Radio to Present The Salvation Army's 24th Annual Bed & Bread Club Radiothon

News/Talk 760 WJR Radio to Present The Salvation Army's 24th Annual Bed & Bread Club Radiothon

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Nov. 23, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit announced today that the 24th annual Salvation Army Bed & Bread Club Radiothon will be broadcast on News/Talk 760 WJR on Friday, Feb. 25, 2011.

The Radiothon will be hosted by WJR's personalities including Paul W. Smith, Frank Beckmann, Mitch Albom, Warren Pierce, and others with 100 percent of every dollar donated going to The Salvation Army's Bed & Bread Club® program.

Approximately 5,000 meals are served each day to children, adults and seniors by The Salvation Army Bed & Bread program, which includes Bed & Bread trucks. The trucks make stops in Detroit's most depressed areas every day of the year.

In addition, 570 men, women and children are sheltered by The Salvation Army's Bed & Bread program every day and night of the year.

"WJR is thrilled to join The Salvation Army in the fight against hunger and homelessness. We look forward to this wonderful event for our community," said Michael Fezzey, president and general manager of WJR.

"I am very happy to hear that this critical and important fundraising event will continue," said Dick Purtan, retired radio personality and founder & former host of the Radiothon for 23 years. "I am urging all of my past supporters to give to The Salvation Army Bed & Bread Radiothon, especially in this time of great need."

The Bed and Bread Program's mobile feeding trucks refer the homeless to Salvation Army treatment programs as well as provide valuable social services. Bed and Bread trucks leave from The Salvation Army's Acres of Hope campus in Detroit 365 days a year to visit numerous designated Bed and Bread stops throughout the day.

"We are looking forward to another successful year of raising funds to provide critical services such as food and shelter assistance for our neediest neighbors," said Major John Turner, general secretary of The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit. "The goal of the 2011 Radiothon is to raise as much money as possible to help meet the ever-increasing needs of the homeless and hungry of metro Detroit."

A $10 per month gift ($120 per year) to The Salvation Army Bed and Bread Program helps to feed a child or adult for one year and enrolls you in the Bed and Bread Club.

The Salvation Army has seen a dramatic increase in the demand for services the past few years. With temperatures dropping and the unemployment rate in the double digits, The Salvation Army is now serving some who used to be donors. According to recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics, Michigan was the only state where poverty rose last year in 2009, as well as the only one where incomes fell.

For more information or to make a donation, visit www.salmich.org or call (877) SAL-MICH.

Founded by William Booth in London, England in 1865, The Salvation Army is a faith-based, non-profit organization dedicated to serving people in need without discrimination. In 2009, The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit was involved in providing 3,181,865 million meals and 724,134 nights of shelter for the homeless. The Salvation Army uses $.85 of every dollar raised to provide direct services to people in need each and every day of the year. For more information about The Salvation Army, please call 877-SAL-MICH, or visit us at www.salmich.org.

SOURCE The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit

The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit

CONTACT: Andrea Westfall, +1-313-567-5092, westfall@franco.com, or Rebekah Johnson, +1-313-567-5016, johnson@franco.com, both of Franco Public Relations Group for The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit

Web Site: http://www.salmich.org

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