When it came time to celebrate KOB4’s 75th anniversary this year, the station looked around for a volunteer project where KOB4 staff could “Stand 4 New Mexico” and help their community in a substantive way during a Day of Service. Chosen for its focus on helping underprivileged students K-12 in the state’s
largest school district, Locker#505 has long had a working relationship with the station via specific critical needs, individual clothing drives, and regular hotlines to raise money and recruit volunteers. For the Day of Service project, KOB4 team members from all station departments spent 2-hour shifts helping Locker#505 staff sort piles of donations to be merged into their inventory, organizing things
not usable by Locker#505 (most of these are routinely donated to other local charities), and restocking the “shopping section” of the storefront where kids can pick out their own no-cost-to-them wardrobes on a real “shopping trip”.
Throughout the Day of Service, live newscast shots from Locker#505 promoted the group’s mission of helping school kids , stressed the need for more donations and urged the public to volunteer. At the end of the day, 150 bags of donations had been sorted, 20 large bags of recyclable material re-packed, work forms for 1,000 participating families organized, 25 toiletry kits assembled, and 50 outfits coordinated and styled for kids. Additionally, Locker#505 added 30 new volunteers to their work lists.
