26th October 2020

York Hospital Radio celebrates after £10,000 funding award

York Hospital Radio – the radio station staffed entirely by volunteers which broadcasts programmes for patients in the York Hospital – is celebrating an award of nearly £10,000 from the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, distributed by the The National Lottery Community Fund. 

Earlier this year, the organisation – a Registered Charity – launched an appeal for around £15,000 to replace the life-expired computers which keep the station on air 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Without funding, the station would almost certainly have had to go off air permanently. 

The station put in a bid to the Fund, and that bid has been successful. Chairman Ian Clennan said : “We are absolutely delighted to have received this funding from the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, and I would like to thank the government for making the funding available, and of course National Lottery players as well. 

“This award has guaranteed the future of the station, and together with other funding we have received this year as part of the Appeal, allows us to replace the very old technology which we have been relying on to stay on air, and to upgrade our broadcasting system as well. This is particularly vital in the current climate, when it is difficult for our volunteers to broadcast as normal in our studios. 

“However, this is not the end of our fundraising story, as we still need to raise around £8,000 a year in order to continue to provide our important service for our listeners. But in the immediate term, I am immensely relieved and grateful that we have received this significant funding.” 

York Hospital Radio broadcasts a mixture of music shows around the clock, together with commentaries on all York City home games, and in more normal times, Outside Broadcasts from a range of local venues, and interviews with guests. The station can be heard on the bedside radio system within the hospital, and also via the station’s website : www.yorkhospitalradio.com and via its new free app. 

The station’s treasurer Phil Bewers added : “This award is genuinely great news, and allows us to continue to provide truly local radio for our listeners.”