Local charity, Life Care Radio is one of only five groups in the South West region that have been shortlisted to compete for the public vote and up to £50,000 of Big Lottery Fund cash in ITV’s The People’s Projects TV Competition. ITV will feature a different project each evening from 29th February -4th March during the 6pm broadcast and viewers and the public can vote online to decide who wins the prize of us to £50,000.
Founded along the lines of Hospital Radio, of which there are over 200 stations in the UK, the team provide a mixture of songs, information and chat tailored specifically to people in long term care provisions such as residential and nursing homes. If they win, the money from The People’s Projects will be used to fund listening units which will allow care home residents to tune in any time during the day and night. Cathie Burgess, Trustee states; “This is really important as it will allow clients to access the service at any time and often they might be lonely at night – hearing a friendly voice and listening to music can help to alleviate those feelings and provide companionship. There is also a growing body of research to suggest that listening to music helps people with dementia and can even reduce pain.”
The project will also fund an interactive text request service and upgrade vital studio equipment which will enable Life Care Radio to respond quickly to the demands of the listener and provide professional-sounding shows. Run exclusively by volunteers, the team hope that the broadcast-quality equipment will inspire more young people to get involved in the service and train as presenters and request collectors. “The skills that you learn at Life Care Radio are an excellent foundation for life and work” claims Cathie, who began Hospital Broadcasting when she was just 14 years old “Hospital Radio services have produced broadcasting greats in the past such as Ken Bruce and Chris Moyles but really what is important is providing that personalised service – that is something special and that is what makes what we do really important – we’re not a faceless voice in a box, we are friends.”
To support Life Care Radio visit www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk.
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