Over the course of two weeks in December, Hot 102.7FM’s breakfast and afternoon drive shows conducted emotional on-air executions that saw recipients live on Joburg’s Hottest Breakfast and The Big Joburg Drive, with the good news broken to them and floods of tears all round, both in studio and on the ground.
The stories themselves were heartbreaking.
For example, a retrenched single mother with two kids and a parent with cancer, struggling to keep her autistic son in school; a former addict who survived a suicide attempt and needed a prosthetic eye; a youngster with kidney failure who desperately needed dialysis; a star pupil from a disadvantaged background who Hot Cares is now putting through university; an animal rescue centre that needed a small vehicle to transport sick and injured pets; a homeless teen who lost most of her family in a tragic fire; a mother and daughter living on the streets; a nearly-blind pensioner who needed a cataract operation; and an emphysema sufferer in desperate need of an invertor to combat loadshedding.
All incredibly worthy recipients, who will now go into Christmas with just a little more love and light in their hearts, with some of their burdens eased.
“This really was another example of the power of radio and how we’re in a privileged position to use our platform to do some good,” says Lloyd Madurai, managing director of Hot 102.7FM. “To see our presenters in tears and to receive so many voice notes from listeners, telling us how we had touched their lives, was just hugely rewarding, and that’s what makes the Hot Cares Christmas so special.”
A lot of behind-the-scenes work goes into making the Hot Cares Christmas the sustainable and effective initiative it is.
“It all starts with our annual Teddython fundraiser, which this year saw us raise R8.9m from corporates and individuals and gave us the means with which to ‘grant’ these Christmas wishes,” says Carmen Rocha, managing director of Hot Cares. “We then put the word out to the Hot 102.7FM audience, asking for listeners to nominate individuals they felt that could do with some Christmas cheer, in the form of some relief.”
That led to a flood of emails, with Hot Cares blown away by the generosity of the Hot 102.7FM audience, with so many tales of people looking to help change the lives of those in need.
The Hot Cares Christmas is just one of the registered non-profit company’s many initiatives.
Hot Cares has Public Benefit Organisation status and strives to make a meaningful difference to the lives of those around it. It dedicates its efforts to providing much-needed assistance to those who find themselves in difficult circumstances, with a focus on four key areas: humanitarian and welfare, medical, educational, and animal welfare.
