Participants in the first edition of Community Spotlight on KURU 89.1 FM, and streaming on GMCR.org. Clockwise from top right: Candice Burke, host of Community Spotlight and a member of the GMCR Board of Directors; Grant County Community Foundation representatives Mattie Eagle (Board of Directors), Bernadette Smyth (Executive Director), and Shelby Hallmark (Board of Directors); Jamie Newton, Resource Development Committee GMCR/KURU.Community organizations that provide services to address a broad diversity of needs, offer cultural enrichment and entertainment, and sponsor civic activities and advocacy are featured on a new program on Fridays at 9:30 a.m., Community Spotlight, hosted by Candice Burke on Gila/Mimbres Community Radio (KURU 89.1 FM, and streaming on the Internet at GMCR.org). Each program introduces volunteers and staff in an interview that sets out the organization’s mission and current priorities, with opportunities for interested listeners to get involved.
Community Spotlight premiered on March 10, 2021, with an introduction to the Grant County Community Foundation. Executive Director Bernadette Smyth was joined by Board members Shelby Hallmark and Mattie Eagle to explain how the Community Foundation facilitates philanthropic support of organizations and projects that benefit Grant County and the surrounding region.
Give Grandly, an annual day of generosity that has raised over $683,000 for good causes in our community, has been co-sponsored by the Community Foundation since the event was initiated in 2014. This year, Gila/Mimbres Community Radio is promoting Give Grandly by broadcasting interviews with representatives of the 57 participating community organizations in the one o’clock hour each day, Monday-Friday. On Saturday, May 8, 2021, the day of the Give Grandly event, the station will broadcast a live stream of Give Grandly donations along with rebroadcasts of the interviews on KURU 89.1 FM, and on the web at GMCR.org .
Marcus Hanson, Station Manager for GMCR and KURU, said the station’s aim is to help Give Grandly continue the tradition of generosity that has made this event a remarkable source of support for civic organizations in past years. “The pandemic has put a lot of people under real strain,” said Hanson. “That means many people may have less to give, but at the same time the work of the organizations participating in Give Grandly has never been more important.”
Andrea Warner, President of Give Grandly for 2021, was the guest on Community Spotlight on March 17. She encouraged everyone to listen to the interviews, to gain personal acquaintance with the organizations as they make their giving decisions.
GMCR and KURU broadcast music, news and public affairs, cultural and educational topics, and commentary, with Spanish-language in addition to English programming, 24/7. Since early in the pandemic, the station has offered Coronavirus Update, an information resource created in partnership with other local organizations. Each Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. the program broadcasts announcements and an in-depth interview with scientists, health care providers, educators, elected officials, and representatives of community organizations, with information and perspectives that are uniquely tailored to the needs of this community. People can listen to interviews anytime, as podcasts, and even download them to their own devices. The Coronavirus Update program is coordinated with a comprehensive resource website, https://grantcountycoronavirusupdate.org/ . Both GMCR and the coalition that maintains the website are among the organizations that welcome donations through Give Grandly.
Gila/Mimbres Community Radio is funded entirely by donations from the community. Supporters can donate through GiveGrandly.org, or directly by visiting GMCR.org on the Internet and clicking the bright red “DONATE” button. Checks payable to GMCR may be mailed to 519-B North Bullard Street, Silver City, NM 88061, or dropped through the mail slot. For more information, please call 575-597-4891.