Photo: 3MDR presenter & Tech Sub-committee member John Schmidli & presenter Cam Stephen at Sooki Lounge – Shockingly Good Radiothon event
After the wild success of their radiothon this year, 3MDR is looking forward to getting out on the road and bringing live music and events to its listeners in 2024.
3MDR’s Shockingly Good Radiothon ran from 18 September to 15 October 2023 and raised over its goal target of $20,000 for Mountain District Radio in the heart of the Dandenong Ranges, east of Naarm/Melbourne. It was a monster fundraiser that culminated in a Shockingly Good gig at Sooki Lounge, Belgrave, featuring some of the region’s brightest musical talents.
This year’s radiothon theme was a Frankenstein-meets-Halloween vibe where the station decked out in spooky decorations and a special ‘Shockingly Good’ playlist for its team of broadcasters to draw from. Even the station mascot, Koko, joined in on the action!
Photo: 3MDR Station mascot, Koko
The theme ‘Shockingly Good’ was a way of paying homage to 3MDR’s achievements as a small station. For almost 40 years, 3MDR has provided an independent community voice for the Mountain District area through interactive local news, culture, entertainment and emergency alerts – a proud communal effort that relies heavily on its incredible volunteers and generous supporters.
Over the course of the four-week radiothon, 3MDR honed in on four different focuses: the station’s general listenership, artist and musician subscribers, businesses, and community groups. Messages each week were tailored to attract subscribers from each group. The station also had a tonne of great prizes to give away which were allocated amongst the four groups, featuring significant prizes such as a day in a recording studio for an artist subscriber, and a $1,000 on-air campaign for one lucky business subscriber.
With the support of nearly 300 individual subscriptions, donations and more, 3MDR raised $23,000 this year. Funding will be supporting upgrades to outside broadcasting equipment, with a view to taking 3MDR on the road and bringing its audience live music, events, and interviews on location.
‘We are so very grateful for the ongoing support and we cannot wait to serve this community for another 12 months’, shares 3MDR Station Manager, Nat Grant.
Congratulations and well done 3MDR! Tune into 3MDR locally on 97.1 FM or www.3mdr.com from anywhere around the world.