MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY 2008

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Press Release: MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY 2008 >

On Make A Difference Day, Saturday, October 25, 2008, this is what we did:
Our Make A Difference Day project has been two years in the making. Beginning on Make A Difference Day 2006, The Giving Circle, Inc. launched an effort to rebuild Radio Station WQRZ, the Emergency Broadcast Center for Hancock County, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and a new home for station master Brice Phillips. Our 2006 team of volunteers salvaged electronics from the original station, demolished and removed the structure, and cleared the land for rebuilding.  On Make a Difference Day 2008 our volunteer team wrapped up the project with a month long volunteer effort in Hancock County that completed the construction of the new facility for WQRZ and home for Mr. Philips, and held a celebratory awareness-raising benefit concert 1400 miles away in Saratoga Springs, New York.

~ The volunteer crew in Waveland ~	~ Brice Phillips ~
~ Benefit Concert held in Saratoga Springs ~ Love My Goat (TGC Members Bruce Thompson, Sharon Maenza and Dave Sokol) performing with Forrest Jenkins and Cecil the Broadway Banjo Man.

We decided to do this because:
Radio Station WQRZ in Hancock County, Mississippi, served as the Emergency Broadcast Center for the entire county during Hurricane Katrina.  It was the only radio station that stayed on the air during the storm at great risk to the owner and operator, Brice Phillips, earning him a Presidential award for volunteerism.  The entire station, which also served as a home for Brice, eventually succumbed to the storm. In August 2008, tragedy stuck a second time in the winds and water of Hurricane Gustav.  Once again WQRZ was flooded. Station owner Brice Phillips continued to fulfill his emergency responsibilities to the community, despite the devastation, by broadcasting from a porch.

~ The Giving Circle President Ron Deutsch awaiting his "open air" interview with Brice Phillips who is broadcasting from his porch ~	~ Building the new & improved WQRZ ~

What we did will have long term impact because:
Information is critical in a time of crisis. Building a hurricane resistant Emergency Broadcast Center in Hancock County is essential to the survival and safety of the 46,000 residents of Hancock County. Brice Phillips and WQRZ must be there for the citizens of Hancock County. Before our volunteers took action, the original structure had sat untouched for thirteen months.  Now, WQRZ has a permanent structure and a stable home for this American hero.