Here in the smallish town of Renfrew, home base for My Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) as well as my small business, the local non-profit community radio station, Valley Heritage Radio (CJHR-FM 98.7), has once again raised an amazing amount of funds for an important local service, also non-profit.

The station's annual radiothon, supporting Renfrew's "Sunshine Coach" accessible transportation service, aired yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, and this time around raised a six-figure total for the service - a massive $103,237.00! This year's total significantly beats last year's result of $84,500, and is the highest I've ever seen in my twenty-two years as a resident of the 'frew. From the Sunshine Coach's beginnings in 1985 to sometime in the 2010s, the local community cable channel hosted the "Reach For The Rainbow" telethon, with a simulcast on 96.1 myFM for several years, and Valley Heritage Radio has graciously continued the annual fall fundraising broadcast each year after its run on cable TV came to an end.

As a wheelchair user for five years now, I have frequently relied on the Sunshine Coach to get me around town, as well as to medical appointments in Pembroke and Ottawa, and I don't know how I'd do that without the service. Big, big thank you to Valley Heritage Radio and its many listeners for their generous support year after year - it will certainly continue to make a difference for locals with disabilities, myself included.