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PROJECT NAME ORGANISATION /GROUP
THE GIVING CHALLENGE PRIZES: AGEING WELL CHALLENGE
RADIO CLUB HELEN PLATT LTD myradioclub.com
Radio Club is a weekly live radio show where up to 15 older people are the contributors on New Style Radio in Birmingham. As members of their Radio Club they talk about anything and everything, giving them a chance to chat and reminisce, while creating great content for the listeners – as well as some radio stars of the future! The show also has over 50 members who regularly take part in surveys, get mentioned in the show and sometimes do interviews or ring in.
Innovation Radio Club makes the radio a friend an older person can genuinely interact with. Radio by its very nature is a broadcast–to–many medium, yet Radio Club changes that so that radio is able to broadcast to one – and interact with them on a personal level.
It is a transformative experience for the members who are on-air, but it is also hugely beneficial to those who take part off-air. Radio Club
Impact There is strong evidence to indicate that the project has engaged people that are vulnerable to isolation: 100 per cent of members live in low income areas with high crime rates and all the older people display at least one ‘indicator’ of social isolation. Qualitative evidence indicates that Radio Club activities build confidence, friendship and pride among the older people that take part. Radio Club has the ability to reach entire communities through its listenership. Listeners indicate that it creates a sense of belonging, even if they never ring or take part in the show. The show makes them feel part of a generation that still has an important role to play in the community, to pass on experience and culture.
