Sinclair says its hurricane relief efforts have raised more than $1.3 million for the Salvation Army and other organizations that will help residents and businesses impacted by severe weather across several southern states.
The effort, organized through “Sinclair Cares: Hurricane Relief,” involved the media company and many of its local television stations, which raised funds through their own regional campaigns over the past few weeks.
The campaign kicked off earlier this month, with Sinclair setting aside more than 100 hours of promotional time for fundraisers and telethons, the company said. Nearly 350 local TV segments were also produced that helped shine a spotlight on relief efforts following Hurricane Helene in late September and Hurricane Milton about two weeks later.
Some of the efforts involved Sinclair stations raising money for hurricane relief — WCYB (Channel 5, NBC) in Tri Cities, Tennessee helped pull in $650,000 from donations — while others, like the campaign involving KATV (Channel 7, ABC) in Little Rock saw the station fill a tractor-trailer with supplies like clothing, cleaning products, baby items and more.
“We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support that helped us raise nearly $1.3 million to aid in hurricane relief efforts,” said Rob Weisbord, the Chief Operating Officer and President of Local Media at Sinclair. “This is a testament to the power of collaboration and the generosity of our viewers and employees, as these funds will make a critical difference for those affected, helping to rebuild lives and communities in the aftermath of the devastation.”
“We are deeply grateful to Sinclair for their partnership and commitment to supporting The Salvation Army’s relief efforts for those impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton,” Kenneth Hodder, the National Commander of the Salvation Army, said in a statement. “Their help in raising critical funds and awareness is making a lasting difference for families and communities facing immense challenges.”
Other stations that helped raise a sizable amount of money for the Salvation Army include WJAR (Channel 10, NBC) in Providence, Rhode Island, which collected $160,000 through a telethon, and WEAR (Channel 3, ABC) in Pensacola, Florida, which raised $50,000.
Sinclair made a separate corporate donation of $50,000 to benefit the Salvation Army, and Sinclair’s Executive Chairman, David D. Smith, made a personal contribution of $25,000 to the charity.
