The Hillsboro-based Supplementary Assistance to the Handicapped (SATH) program will host its 20th annual fundraising radio-a-thon Monday, Oct. 24 at the C-103 radio station in West Union and the 99.5 station in Georgetown from 6-10 p.m.
Proceeds from the event will be used to support KAMP (Kids and Motivated People) Dovetail, a five-day, four-night annual volunteer-run summer camp at the Rocky Fork Lake State Park serving children with special needs. More than 300 special-needs children attend the camp each year, and it is supported by more than 400 volunteers.
The camp primarily serves special needs children in Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette, and Highland counties, but is available to those in 30 of Ohio’s counties.
Each child at the camp is teamed up with a personal volunteer to ensure the best experience for every participant.
SATH hosts a number of fundraisers each year to support the camp. Many of the fundraising events were forgone during the COVID-19 pandemic and are resuming this year.
SATH Executive Director Linda Allen said it cost between $80,000 and $85,000 to put together last year’s camp. “After being off a year and coming back, prices on food and paper products have gone up, and because we’ve got a lot more kids coming, it’s going to take probably close to $100,000 this year,” she said.
The largest of the SATH fundraisers is an annual celebrity golf tournament that will be held in April. Allen said the tournament typically raises about $30,000 for the camp. She hopes to at least match the nearly $10,000 raised at last year’s radio-a-thon from this year’s event.
Listeners can tune into the event on C-103 or 99.5 The Edge for information about the radio-a-thon, upcoming SATH events, and the latest progress of the camp. Parents and guests will share stories about what the SATH program has meant to their child during the radio-a-thon.
Donations can be made prior to the radio-a-thon by contacting Allen at 937-366-6657. Those donations will be announced on the radio. Those who wish to make an on-air pledge can call 800-326-9722 or 937-544-9722 or visit the station during the broadcast.
“They can listen and make pledges,” said Allen. “We appreciate the community support because they’ve been really good to support us in the past, and we hope they’ll do that again this year.”
Reach John Hackley at 937-402-2571.
