UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND AND FM OMNI CHANNEL RADIO STATION PARTNER TO HOLD FIRST RADIO THON, APRIL 25th


UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND AND FM OMNI CHANNEL RADIO STATION PARTNER TO HOLD FIRST RADIO THON, APRIL 25th

Marking the 80th Anniversary of UNCF , the 24 hour LIVE streaming call in event will raise money for college scholarships


April 19, 2024 The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) was founded on April 25, 1944. In celebration of the 80th anniversary this year, t he First U NCF Omni Channel Radio Thon , a 24 hour event to raise money for college scholarships, will be held Thursday, April 25, at 5 a.m. CDT, through Friday, April 26, at 5 a.m. CDT on the FM Omni Channel Radio Station ™.

The digital station is available for download via the Apple or Google store. Donations can be made via the link on the App. Also, donate at www.OmniChannelRadio.com or www.UNCF.org /Chicago

The entire day of FM Omni Channel programming will be dedicated to UNCF, starting with “The Ramonski Luv Morning Show,” at 5 a.m.

Adapting the format of the United Negro College Fund Telethon (formerly the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon for UNCF), televised for several de cades, the first UNCF Omni Channel Radio Thon will feature a “parade” of local and national celebrities from music, media, sports, and entertainment who will call in or stop by the station to talk about the importance of supporting UNCF.

“This UNCF OmniChannel Radio Thon is an example of how the global community can come together to give our young people a fighting chance,” said Lisa Rollins, Regional Workplace Director for UNCF. 

Entertainers and music legends include Gerald Alston (The Manhattans), Mars hall Thompson (The Chi Lites), Billy Brown (Ray, Goodman & Brown), Russell Thompkins, Jr. (The Stylistics), Ron Isley (The Isley Brothers), Antonio Fargas (Huggy Bear), Heatwave, Enchantment, Willie Clayton, Keith Washington, Copeland Davis, Deitra Farr, N ext Movement, Loretta Holloway, Melanie Moore, Ray Parker, Jr, Howard Hewitt, Darcus Gates, Dennis Edward’s Temptations Revue, Linda Woodson, Theo Huff, Gene Chandler, The Whispers, Evelyn “Champagne” King, LEON, Claudette Robinson, Pastor Shirley Caesar and more. Plus, Retired National Football League Players will participate.“

Our future generation is in a state of emergency. Everyone that I spoke with alluded to this which is why each one immediately said ‘yes’ to lending his/her star status to encourage everyone to give,” said Entertainment Director Mable Buckner, who coordinated the celebrity list for the FM Omni Channel.

From 2022 2023, 515 students in the Illinois, Wisconsin, Kansas and Missouri reg ion received UNCF scholarships.

Each year, UNCF awards more than $100 million in scholarships to students attending more than 1,100 schools across the country including its prestigious network of 37 HBCUs. Seventy percent of Black doctors , 5 0 percent of B lack lawyers , and 80 percent of Black judges attended HBCU schools.

Vice President Kamala Harris attended Howard University, an HBCU school. Dr. Martin Luther King , Jr., attended Morehouse College , an HBCU school . The Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Toni Morrison, Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen, Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Stephen A. Smith and Oprah Winfrey all attended HBCU schools. HBCU schools are open to all ethnicities.

About UNCF

UNCF (the United Negro College Fund) i s the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness.

UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 17 percent of African American baccalaureate degree s. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment and curriculum and faculty development programs.

Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized motto, ‟A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” ® Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Facebook, Twitter and I nstagram at @UNCF.

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