| Burma Radiothon Appeal |
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| SBS and Austcare “Cyclone Nargis Radiothon Appeal” secures almost $250,000 to assist Burma Recovery
In response to the recent devastating cyclone in Burma (Myanmar), SBS Radio in partnership with Australian aid agency, Austcare, held a national fundraising Radiothon from 1-13 June. "SBS is pleased to announce that almost $250,000 was raised as a result of the Cyclone Nargis Radiothon Appeal," said Director of SBS Radio, Paula Masselos. "This result only demonstrates the significant power of radio and the generosity of our listeners, viewers and online community," said Ms Masselos. These funds will contribute to Austcare’s provision of emergency relief to the hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been devastated by the cyclone; supplying food, temporary shelter, clothing and blankets, and medical aid. Already they have initiatedwork in 107 villages and 2 temporary settlements,with a total population of 42,000 people. By the end of July they hope to reach 27,300 households, or 136,500 people. Archie Law, Austcare CEO, says, “SBS and Austcare have a great partnership, having collaborated before to raise funds for many causes, most recently for the 2004 Pakistan earthquake; and now to support the victims and their families of this devastating cyclone. SBS is a wonderful partner for Austcare, helping not only the organisation in our fundraising efforts, but also helping the Burmese community and all Australians.” "We are extremely grateful for the generosity that Australia's multicultural communities have shown once again, in their fantastic response to the SBS Austcare Cyclone Nargis appeal. Through the support of SBS television, radio and website, supporters pledged $246,302 to help the people of Burma recover from this devastating disaster. These funds will enable food, shelter, clean water and medical aid to be delivered through Austcare's partners and community networks in Burma, as well as longer term recovery programs such as rebuilding livelihoods," he continued. SBS has a history of raising money for worthy causes through Radiothons, and has raised more than $7 million since 1997. Partnering with charities such as Westmead Children’s Hospital, AHEPA, the Royal Children’s Hospital and Red Cross, SBS has worked with charities and communities on appeals for many natural disasters such as earthquakes, the South East Asian tsunami and the New South Wales bushfire appeal. All SBS Radiothons have been highly successful in raising awareness of the plight of the victims of these natural disasters and in raising millions of dollars to assist those in need. About SBS Radio SBS Radio is Australia's national multilingual and multicultural radio network broadcasting to all state and territory capitals in 68 languages. The most linguistically diverse media entity in the world, SBS Radio broadcasts more than 15,000 hours of individually-made programs each year to every major city in Australia over a five-signal integrated network. SBS Radio serves all Australians, especially the more than 3.1 million people who speak a language other than English at home. For further information contact Sophia Spinelli on (03) 9949 2111 or visit www.austcare.org.au |
