Abbotsford (January 26, 2016) – Abbotsford’s CIVL 101.7 FM, is the coordinating station responsible for this year’s installment of the collaborative project among National Campus and Community Radio Stations in Canada, called the 14th Annual Homelessness Marathon.
Hosted for 11 years by McGill University’s CKUT-FM in Montreal, the marathon has been coordinated by U of Alberta’s CJSR in Edmonton and Queens University in Kingston’s CFRC over the past two years, making this the first time the marathon has been coordinated by a station in British Columbia.
The broadcast will last 14 hours, starting on Tuesday, February 23rd at 2 pm (PST), and lasting until Wendesday, February 24th at 4 am (PST). Regular CIVL programming will be pre-empted for the entirety of the broadcast, airing instead public forums, pre-recorded stories, and other content provided by each of the stations mentioned above, as well as CJSF Burnaby from SFU, CiTR at UBC, CFRU at the U of Guelph, CHRW from Westernin London, ON, and CKDU at Dalhousie in Halifax.
Each year, dozens of stations participate in producing accessible content from volunteers, staff, community groups, and concerned local citizens, in order to address issues of homelessness, poverty, and the associated stigmas that haunt people who struggle to make ends meat every day. To date, the broadcast is confirmed to air on stations in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, NB, and NS.
Overall, 22 stations have already signed on to broadcast all or parts of the Marathon, and more are signing on every day! CIVL will be taking calls live on the toll free hotline for any listeners to chime in with their thoughts or experiences.
CIVL has broadcast parts of the marathon each of the past 5 years, contributing content 3 times, including a 30 minute live broadcast with 5 and 2 Ministries’ Ward Draper one week before Abbotsford City Council made the ultimate decision to forego the supportive housing project which was hotly debated in 2014. In 2015, CIVL submitted a 45 minute live recording of WJ Mouat Secondary’s 12th Grade drama production, commissioned by Character Abbotsford, answering the question “What can be done to eliminate homelessness in Abbotsford?”
Live forums will be set up in Vancouver, Burnaby, Kingston, and Montreal, featuring open mics and public forums so those most affected can participate and have their voices heard.
For further information, please contact:
Station Manager – CIVL 101.7 FM
UFV Campus and Community Radio Society
Tel: 778-982-0648
aaron@civl.ca
or
Marathon Station Coordinators
Staff/Volunteers at Participating Stations
1-888-504-7441 x 6307 (Toll Free Canada-Wide)
www.civl.ca/homelessness
marathon@civl.ca
