WCTE raises over $10,000 dollars for education with the first annual Day of Giving fundraising event held on Wednesday, August 21. The event included an all-day telethon on WCTE, participation by local industry and restaurants, as well as, Zimmer Broadcasting who ran all day promotions and interviews on their four stations. WCTE’s social media and digital marketing also played a critical role in the day’s success. “WCTE went on the air 41 years ago on this day we thought it was only appropriate to celebrate by raising money for the core reason PBS exists,” says Avery Hutchins Director of Development for WCTE. “Money raised from WCTE’s Day of Giving will fund the WCTE Education Endowment.” said Avery Hutchins, Director of Development and Marketing for WCTE.
In 2018 WCTE celebrated 40-years of service to the Upper Cumberland and to mark this milestone WCTE established the first Endowment for Education. This fund has been supported by WCTE Trustee, individual donors and by corporations raising over $240,000 in the first year. The overall goal is to raise 1 million dollars over five years.
WCTE has served as an education partner in the Upper Cumberland for more than 40 years, providing the region with award-winning productions and educational outreach. In 2018, WCTE convened a Community Collaborative for Early Learning Media to increase the reach and effectiveness of the outreach program. In the 2018-2019 school year, exactly 2,228 educators, 2,564 families, and 18,019 children benefited from hands-on experiences via the Ready to Learn PBS KIDS curriculum. These free WCTE events allowed educators, families, and children to learn about STEM, early literacy strategies and the PBS KIDS apps and games.
A fund like WCTE Education Endowment will help ensure that all at-risk children affected by poverty can get access to quality education needed to overcome their challenges. Many children in the UC are isolated, have limited resources and lack educational opportunities and over time this creates generational poverty and disheartening challenges among our children.
Learn more about the need at wcte.org/dayofgiving. For donations to WCTE Education Endowment call Avery Hutchins at WCTE or visit wcte.org and make a contribution today. Your gift could be tax-deductible.