Radio Lollipop in Manchester, UK decided they needed to raise the profile of the charity and used a fellow radio station to help.

Brian Wilbraham (Press & PR) contacted Fred Fielder (BBC’s GMR) as they are friends and use to work together, to see if he would put out a message for new volunteers. Fred invited Radio Lollipop volunteers in and gave them a slot live on his show. He asked various questions and the volunteers provided details of a volunteer recruitment drive. Thursday nights play activities and radio show had to be closed due to to the decline in volunteer numbers. Fred gave out the message in his normal load, lively and fun way. He wsa then presented with a certificate as a Friend of Radio Lollipop.

As a direct result of that air-check, there have been 17 enquiries but more importantly the profile of Radio Lollipop has been throughout the Greater Manchester Area. If the message is a loud as Fred’s shirt, then numbers should increase even more.

Brian has been working hard since he joined the Management Team and has also managed to obtain an editorial in the Salford Advertiser (we have received 6 applications in the first 2 days) and has produced a cover story from the perception of what it is like being a volunteer from Ann Wilson in the Bury Times (Manchester).

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for Radio Lollipop at either Manchester or one of our other many locations (check the website) then please contact us.

(pictured are Brian Wilbraham (Press & PR Officer, Radio Lollipop, Manchester), Brian’s son Mark, Kevin Breen (Chairperson, Radio Lollipop, Manchester) and Fred Fielder (BBC GMR) – please note: sunglasses not supplied!)

“There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.” This may remind you of something — the Wizard of Oz. Radio Lollipop volunteers in Miami chose this classic as their theme for the semi-annual workshop, headed by The Education and Training Committee.
The “brainy” Scarecrow stuffed with straw handed out diplomas. The “heart-filled” Tin Man, in a gray body suit, complete with a funnel for his head, introduced Betsy Beal, a Patient and Family Representative at MCH. He then handed out heart-shaped clocks. Our own lollipoper, Marc, dressed up like the “courageous” Lion, with a long mane and lots of face paint. He introduced Dotty Thomas, a thirty-plus-year employee at MCH, who spoke on courage shown by everyone at the hospital. The “courageous Lion” later distributed medals for all participants. Also on hand: Dot (Dorothy) the Good Witch, munchkins, and Radio Lollipop founder Hedley Finn played the Wizard. But the RL volunteers weren’t the only ones who did some learning. Dot also got to see first-hands what it takes to be a lollipopper. It was a fun-filled day with lots of singing and dancing.

Scott the bear became a member of the Glasgow team in April after two volunteers who were visiting the USA and decided to stop in at Texas Children’s hospital. Since touching down at Glasgow Airport on the return trip, he caught the flying bug and has been jetting all over the world ever since. On the rare occasion that the team hear from him he asked them to run a Christmas competition. Unfortunately, he didn’t leave all the details. They have been trying with no success to contact him but all they mange to get is his answer machine on which says he is “…somewhere over the Atlantic…”.

So at the moment all they can ask is that you continue to keep checking the Radio Lollipop website on a regular basis to see if they tracked him down and where he has been!

For further information, email Scott at scottthebear@radiolollipop.org

Volunteers from Radio Lollipop returned to Marwell Zoo on the weekend of 26th and 27th July with their roadshow unit to entertain visitors to the zoo and raise funds for their work in Southampton General Hospital. We braved the showers on Saturday until the rain became heavy enough to drive all the visitors away.

The sun shone all day Sunday, and visitors sat and listened to the music whilst enjoying their picnics. Young and old alike enjoyed our sideshow games and competitions. There was a steady queue all day at our face painting tent, and children came out sporting zebra, tiger, rabbit and butterfly faces.

We spread the word of Radio Lollipop’s work to hundreds of people, and managed to raise £230. On top of that we all had an enjoyable time in the fresh air in one of the loveliest part of the Hampshire countryside. If you are ever near Winchester, then make time to visit Marwell Zoo. It’s well laid out and the animals are well displayed and looked after.