This Way Out is an international LGBT radio newsmagazine which has been in continuous production since 1988(!). In fact, while in college yours truly co-founded an LGBT radio show called "Homo Radio" on WRPI 91.5FM in 1992 which used the weekly 30-minute This Way Out program as the core around which an entire community-based radio program was based.
I also serve on the Overnight Productions board of directors, the 501(c)(3) entity which produces This Way Out.
Recently, This Way Out producer (and founder) Greg Gordon put out this dire fundraising appeal:
We're often asked, "How many listeners do you have?" For several reasons, typical radio ratings services just don’t help us answer that question.
We do know that at least 200 local broadcast outlets across the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe and New Zealand now air our program every week, in addition to global short wave station RFPI. We’re also heard through satellite distribution to cable outlets and homes across the Asia-Pacific and Africa-Middle East regions, and hundreds download our podcasts each week.
• “Just wanted to pass on my deepest thanks and gratitude for your show. I love the international coverage, the humor, the music -- I love it all!”
-H.C.
New York City
• "Thank God I found you! Thanks very much for your wonderful programmes."
-Sampson
Owerri, Nigeria
Messages like these tell us something about the depth of our impact. One of the ways we can measure the breadth of our reach is by the support we receive during our holiday season/year-end fund-raising campaign. It's the generosity of our listener-sponsors at this time of year in particular that has literally meant the difference between life and death several times during our more than 22 years on the air. We need your help now to keep this one-of-kind internationally distributed nonprofit weekly public/community radio show going.
• “I'm not gay, but have gay friends; I'll tell them about this program. Keep up the good work.”
-K.L.
State College, Pennsylvania
• “I was amazed to listen today to This Way Out and liked it very much."
-E.A.
Holguin, Cuba
"This Way Out" doesn't operate out of a state-of-the-art studio. We don’t have an office or a large paid staff. Our overhead is low, but we still need to raise $5,000 for our production and distribution costs through April 2011, when we hope to receive an annual grant from a longtime supportive foundation.
Each and every contribution, no matter how large or small, will make a difference! One of the easiest ways you can support "This Way Out" is to sign up for automatic monthly donations, at whatever level you can afford, from $10 to $100.
We could stay healthy until that grant arrives with:
> 34 "Angels" donating $25 per month for the next six months.
> 17 "Major Angels" donating $50 per month for the next six months, or ...
> 9 "Supreme Angels" donating $100 per month for the next six months, or ...
You can easily choose your preferred DONOR LEVEL in the "Is Anybody Out There?" text at:
http://www.thiswayout.org
Of course your automatic contributions at any level or your one-time donation before year's end will certainly make you a special kind of Holiday Angel in our eyes as well! Find the one-time "DONATE" button in the text at:
http://www.thiswayout.org
You can also postal-mail a check to us at P.O. Box 38327, Los Angeles, CA 90038. And if you’re in the U.S., your contribution (online or postal-mailed) is tax-deductible as a charitable donation to the extent allowed by law. We acknowledge every donation with a "thank you" email or letter.
(In case you're wondering why we don't ask for listener donations to our program during the program, it's because U.S. federal regulations governing public/community radio forbid it.)
• "I hear your program on headphones behind my closed bedroom door so that no one will know I'm listening."
- Email from an anonymous teen
Several heart-breaking suicides of teens who were gay, or who were perceived to be gay, have been in the headlines lately. Much of our programming reminds LGBTQ young people that life really does get better! (By the way, the links to several youth support groups are posted on our website.)
We know from the mail we get that we do what can sometimes be genuinely life-saving work. "This Way Out" is often the only supportive voice LGBTQ young people hear. Please help us continue to share that voice with those teens, and with others around the world struggling to break out of their closets in a safe and supported way.
• “I'm a 44 y.o. married male just confronting my homosexuality. I can't tell you what a morale boost your program is for me. I look forward to it every week. It's better than church.”
-Neal
Los Angeles, California
A core group of volunteer journalists and feature producers make our informative, entertaining and educational weekly programs possible. Will you volunteer now to help bring "This Way Out" to all the listeners who need us? Please don’t assume that enough other people will support our efforts -- we can’t go on without you, too!
Thank you! We wish you and yours the happiest of holiday seasons, and a healthy, productive, and pleasure-filled New Year.
P.S. - Read our informative blog at http://www.twopodcast.blogspot.com/
Become our Facebook fan at http://www.facebook.com/ThisWayOutRadio
And follow Associate Producer Lucia Chappelle'sPlease give generously to support this worthy LGBT program.
timely tweets at http://twitter.com/TWOradio
