Fort Wayne radio station MAJIC 95.1 will broadcast its annual Ronald McDonald House Radiothon on Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., giving listeners 12 hours of powerful family stories while asking the community to open their hearts and wallets. The goal this year is $35,000 to help keep northeast Indiana families close to their hospitalized children when they need it most.
Every dollar raised stays local and goes straight to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Indiana.
Why the Radiothon Hits Home Every Year
For more than two decades, MAJIC 95.1 has turned its airwaves into a lifeline each spring. Morning hosts Andy and Kat, along with the rest of the on-air team, step away from the usual hits to share raw, real stories from parents who have lived at the Ronald McDonald House while their kids fought for their lives in nearby hospitals.
These are not scripted segments. They are live phone calls, tearful thank-yous, and moments when a mom explains how a warm meal and a private bedroom gave her the strength to sit by her child’s bedside for months.
Listeners who have donated year after year say the broadcasts feel like being invited into someone else’s hardest days, and then handed the chance to make those days a little easier.
How Your Money Actually Helps Families
The Ronald McDonald House on Fairfield Avenue in Fort Wayne is more than a building. It is 20 bedrooms, home-cooked dinners, laundry rooms that never close, and a playground where siblings can just be kids again.
Last year alone, the northeast Indiana chapter:
- Provided 4,832 nights of lodging to 432 families
- Saved those families an estimated $1.2 million in hotel and meal costs
- Served 12,486 meals prepared by volunteers
- Kept siblings together during 1,914 hospital stays
A single night at the House costs the charity about $85 to provide, yet no family is ever turned away for inability to pay. That math only works because of days like Friday’s radiothon.
Real Stories from Real Fort Wayne Families
The broadcasts always feature parents like Sarah from Albion, whose premature son spent 108 days in the NICU at Parkview. She still tears up remembering how she could walk from the House to the hospital in her slippers at 3 a.m. when the nurses called.
Or the dad from Huntington who lived at the House for 74 straight days while his teenage daughter recovered from a bone marrow transplant. He says the other families became his second family; they celebrated birthdays together, cried together, and still stay in touch years later.
These stories are why Andy and Kat say the radiothon day is the hardest, and best, work they do all year.
How to Donate and Join the Effort Friday
Listeners can call 260-260-260-95 during the broadcast or text “GIVE” to 260-260-260-95. Online donations are open now at rmhc-neindiana.org/majic.
Businesses can still become hour sponsors. Many local companies match employee gifts or run their own mini-fundraisers in the break room Friday while the broadcast plays.
Every amount matters. One listener tradition is the “$9.51 for 95.1” donation. Another is the “$100 for every year my child has been cancer-free” gift that shows up like clockwork each March.
The station reports donations in real time throughout the day, turning the total into a community scoreboard of kindness.
Fort Wayne has never missed the goal. This town shows up for its kids, year after year. Friday will be no different.
Come for the music, stay for the miracle. Tune in to MAJIC 95.1 and be part of something that reminds us all why northeast Indiana feels like home.
Tell us in the comments: Will you be listening or donating Friday? Share your own Ronald McDonald House story if you’ve got one. These families need to know they’re not alone.
