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The community of Unalaska is a busy place to live. Our community calendar is full of events and activities. About Town is your source for coverage of community events and sports. KUCB staff writes many of the stories, but we also accept contributions from community members for this section of our website. If you'd like to submit a story to About Town, send it to info@kucb.org.

Donors Go The Distance During KUCB's First Remote Pledge Drive

Thanks to the generosity of supporters near and far, KUCB’s 2020 pledge drive was a great success. The fall membership event raised $45,000 to support local radio in Unalaska. 

KUCB has held a live on-air fundraiser every year since the station signed on in 2008. The drive goes for 24 hours, and features on-air DJs around the clock. As with most things in 2020, the pledge drive looked and sounded different from past years. Due to local COVID-19 social distancing mandates, KUCB reduced the number of volunteers by half and pre-taped a number of the segments. The station also remained closed during the day of the event. All donations were made online or over the phone, and thank-you gifts were distributed at curbside pickup events. 

“We were a little worried going into the pledge drive, because during the planning phase, we thought a lot 

Credit KUCB
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KUCB
We interspersed in-person and pre-recorded DJ blocks this year due to COVID-19 health and safety mandates.

about how integral the community walking in and handing us cash has always been in past drives,” said General Manager Lauren Adams. “I know that I was concerned, as well as the [KUCB] board, that we wouldn't have the same returns this year during our pledge drive, because we had to remain closed to the public.” 

Regardless of the restrictions, donations rolled in throughout the day. KUCB reached half of their fundraising goal of $35,000 by 11 a.m., and right before midnight a generous donor made an additional gift in order to push the total past the $40,000 mark.

KUCB would like to thank OptimERA WiFi for donating thousands of dollars of wifi cards as thank you gifts, UniSea’s Hospitality Division for matching the pledges of UniSea employees, Alaska Airlines for providing a round-trip plane ticket as a membership incentive, and Red Fish Electronics for donating additional prizes during the final hours of the drive. KUCB is also grateful for the volunteers who shared their time and talent on-air and behind the scenes during the event. 

Most of all, KUCB is grateful to the 257 businesses and individuals who contributed this year. The station thanks each and every one of you. Donors include former KUCB staff and board members, friends and families of volunteers, and many Unalaska residents, past and present. Funds raised during this event will help keep KUCB 89.7 FM up and running, along with local repeater service of KSKA and the KUCB website. 

KUCB will hold one more curbside sweatshirt pickup event this Friday, Oct. 23, from 3 until 6 p.m. at the Burma Road Chapel. A membership drawing will happen on Friday, Oct. 30, at 9 a.m. live on KUCB Radio.  There are two prizes this year: a system-wide Alaska Airlines plane ticket, and 100 GB of OptimERA wifi!  Contributors get one entry for every $25 donated during the month of October. It’s not too late to contribute – just visit www.kucb.org and click on the donate button.  

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