Help us bring people together on the air

We surely did not plan to launch our WMMT Spring Fund Drive in a moment like this. In fact, we almost didn’t. But then we talked with listeners and programmers and asked, "What can we do to help?" And here’s what we realized —

At a moment of social distancing, radio has the power to bring people together. At a moment of isolation, radio delivers the voices of our friends, neighbors, even our family right to our homes. 

And at a moment of great uncertainty about the future, radio has the power to remind us of where we’ve been and where our community can go — together.

We’ve already built a virtual community of thousands of people who love these mountains. Whether they were born here, moved here, or moved away, or just love this place from afar, our listeners all have their ears tuned into the health and welfare of our region.

So we’re going to use our online community to help in every way we can. Here’s what we’ve done to respond to COVID-19 so far —

We’ve set up a call-in number at (855) POS-SUM4 to gather stories from our community. Your family members who are still working? Your churches who are broadcasting Sunday service over Facebook? The moments of joy you’re finding during this time? We want to hear it all, and plan to gather these experiences into a special COVID-19 program.

We’ve also been partnering with Kentucky Songcrafters to bring you a virtual concert every Sunday evening. We’re calling it the “Sunday Supper Series,” and so far our own Brett Ratliff has helped us showcase the talents of CornMaiz String Band and the Local Honeys. You can tune in right on our Facebook — check there for the full line-up!

We’re also broadcasting daily updates from Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear every night at 5 p.m. You can tune in with your local radio dial or via our online stream, and, if you miss the update, catch the updates we’ve been producing every morning with highlights from the governor’s briefing.

And of course, you can still catch our normal programming, shows like Calls from Home and mountain music that you just won’t hear on other radio stations.

It’s thanks to your generosity that we’re able to put musical and public affairs programming on the air every single day, that we’re able to pass the mic directly to community members, and that we’re able to showcase our region’s diversity.

It takes resources to respond to this crisis. Now more than ever, we would be very grateful for any amount you can give to help us sustain Real People Radio.

The truth is this: We went ahead with this Spring Fund Drive only because we believe we can be a resource in these scary times. 

We hope that you’ll join us in making sure that Real People Radio stays sustainable and on the air as we navigate this unknown territory — together.

On behalf of WMMT and all those we serve, I want to thank you for your support. We can’t do this without you — and we wouldn't want to.