A local radio tradition returned to Mobile this week as station 95 KSJ kicked off its annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids radiothon, a two-day fundraising push that has become a springtime fixture for South Alabama listeners.
The radiothon, which airs live from a remote broadcast tent set up outside the Sam’s Club on the eastern service road of Interstate 65, asks listeners to call in pledges directly to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Station personality Bill Black, who has anchored the event in past years, said the campaign exists almost entirely because of small-dollar donors.
“The real goal is raising money for the hospital,” Black said, noting that more than three-quarters of St. Jude’s funding comes from private donations rather than government support or patient billing. Families whose children are treated at St. Jude are never charged for medical care, travel, housing or food, a policy the hospital has maintained since it opened in the 1960s.
For South Alabama, the stakes are personal. Black said roughly 55 children from Mobile and Baldwin counties are currently receiving treatment through St. Jude’s network, a number that underscores why local radio stations continue to devote air time to the cause year after year. Many of those families travel back and forth to Memphis for treatment, and radiothon organizers say local pledges help offset the broader costs of keeping that pipeline of care free for every family who needs it.
Listeners are encouraged to donate by phone or online, with the option to become a “Partner in Hope” — a recurring pledge of $20 a month for at least a year. Organizers say the recurring-donation model gives the hospital predictable funding it can plan around, rather than relying solely on one-time gifts during the broadcast window.
“We feel like a lot of people can afford to make that pledge,” Black said. “It won’t put a personal strain on their budget, and it will go a long way toward helping the hospital survive.”
Last year’s radiothon brought in $210,000 for the hospital, according to station organizers, a total they hope to match or exceed with this year’s two-day push. The broadcast coincides with continued fundraising tied to the St. Jude Memphis-to-Mobile relay run, an annual event that channels runners and cyclists along a multi-day route benefiting childhood cancer research.
Community fundraising efforts like the radiothon have long been part of the fabric connecting Mobile and Baldwin county families to the Memphis hospital, giving neighbors a direct, tangible way to support children undergoing cancer treatment and other serious illnesses without ever leaving home. Organizers say the response from Sam’s Club shoppers and passersby during the broadcast window is typically strong, with cars lining up along the service road to drop off pledges in person.
The station plans to continue similar remote broadcasts in future years, tying the on-air appeal to a specific, visible location so residents can see where their donations are being collected in real time.