ETOW Featured in Wall Street Journal Magazine

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ETOW is both honored and humbled to be featured in the May 2010 issue of the Wall Street Journal Magazine (see page 24 in the print edition). Writer David Goren’s stellar article brings to life our story, underlined by our mission-driven objectives, and highlights some of our recent significant partnerships; here is an excerpt:

Last August, ETOW teamed with the American Haitian Foundation, shipping radios to the 39 teachers at St. Antoine’s School, in the town of Petite-Rivière-de- Nippes, Haiti, 68 miles from the capital. The teachers brought the radios to their homes, gathering news to pass on to their students. When the earthquake hit, the teachers cranked them up to glean what information they could. “After the earthquake, all the radio stations were off in the country,” says Emmanuel Pressoir, the school’s business manager. “The telephone did not work, even the cell phone. But with their radios, they could go on shortwave, and be informed.” A week later, when a 5.9 aftershock rocked the village and rumors of an impending tsunami stirred panic, the teachers were able to turn to their radios again…”

Please visit the WSJ Mag website to read the full article.

ETOW would especially like to thank David, as well as editor Owen Phillips, photographer Randy Harris, and indeed all the WSJ staff, who made this nonprofit’s dream come true in print before thousands of readers. We would also like to thank those of our partners and supporters who provided wonderful photos and comments that enrich the piece. Last but certainly not least, ETOW wishes to thank those readers who have responded with all forms of support, in the form of encouraging words, or in donations of money, time, and/or talent. Many, many thanks to each of you — we are profoundly grateful.

ETOW Radios Arrive in Sudan

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Sudanese students deliver ETOW radios (in bags) and an ETOW solar panel to a teacher workshop. (Project Education Sudan Journey of Hope 2010)

Ears to Our World’s first radios have arrived in Southern Sudan, care of our partner Project Education Sudan, a US-based charitable organization whose goal is to foster education in areas that have been ravaged by Sudan’s 20 year civil war, which has destroyed its existing educational system.

Like ETOW, Project Educate Sudan believes that education and the dissemination of information is fundamental. ETOW’s shortwave radios have found a vital role in this area, with PES distributing and teaching community leaders how to operate them.

Carol Rinehart, executive director of PES, headed up the first distribution project, taking forty ETOW shortwave radios to five different villages in Sudan. She and her team distributed the radios to headmasters and teachers in schools which PES helps to fund, and found the response was overwhelmingly positive.

A chalk board describes our collaboration. (Project Education Sudan Journey of Hope 2010)

“The teachers were so excited about the radios and using them as a teaching resource that it became the central focus of the teacher In-Service [program], and more teachers than we [could supply] came from all around the area to receive one,” recalled Rinehart. “After distribution of the radios, I saw the teachers around the villages using them with kids surrounding them. Our biggest challenge was the chiefs of the villages also want[ed] a radio!”

Teacher with an ETOW radio. (Project Education Sudan Journey of Hope 2010)

The ETOW radios that were distributed in Sudan almost instantly became the primary source for news and current events, particularly in covering the country’s first democratic elections. During these elections the teachers kept their new radios in the classrooms to teach their students about the voting process, and the broadcasts provided vital information to the community about where and how to cast ballots.

Shortwave radios like those ETOW distributes take on a crucial role in countries where electricity, internet access, and other technology is limited. Radios connect those in remote areas with information that would otherwise be almost impossible to glean. “The main impact of the radios will be with the students and teachers, but the interconnectedness of the students and teachers as a vital part of their community will have a larger impact on the whole village,” said Rinehart. “Their communities are so remote, in a newly-emerging country only now building an infrastructure. So literally, the radios ETOW provides keeps the students, teachers and the whole community connected to the world.”

Many Thanks, Memset!

Ears to Our World has a new web host and supporter, Memset, a carbon-neutral web hosting company, which will provide us with a dedicated server for our ever-growing web community. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Memset for graciously providing us with a robust web hosting package with extremely reliable service, as well as a website that will be able to handle increased web traffic.

We are delighted to find a web hosting company that shares our ethics of sustainable business practices. Memset recently announced that they expect to save their customers over 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2010 through their use of cloud computing.

Nick Craig-Wood, CTO of Memset, shares our commitment to the main goals of ETOW. “As an internet hosting company, we are thrilled to be helping ETOW deliver information to the places the Internet doesn’t reach yet,” he said. “On a personal level, I’ve always had a soft spot for radio communications, and to think that a person in an impoverished country could have the use of a long distance radio makes me very happy.”

We feel very fortunate to be supported by such a professional and reliable web hosting company, and look forward to growing with Memset in the future.

Radios To Chile: Partnership Brings Information in the Aftermath

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Ears To Our World would like to announce that we are now accepting donations for self-powered radios to the earthquake-affected area in Chile, through a fund-raising partnership with student groups from Harvard and the Boston, MA area. Their fund raising venture is called Reconnect Chile. reconnectchile_5cm

Through Reconnect, we are pleased to have established a strategic partnership with World Vision Chile, who will distribute the radios throughout the rural coastal villages most affected by both the 8.8 magnitude earthquake, consequent aftershocks and tsunamis.

Please consider donating money today to directly support sending radios to Chile. As with our efforts in Haiti, your $30.00 US contribution purchases and sends not one, but two self-powered Eton emergency radios to Chile.  Radios provide vital emergency information so earthquake survivors can receive news of medical assistance, food, water and reports about loved ones.

Choose Donation Amount

Again, all of this is made possible through our partnerships with Reconnect Chile and World Vision Chile. For questions about Reconnect Chile’s fund raising activities, or if you would like to help, please contact: reconnect.chile@gmail.com

ETOW would also like to thank the generosity of our sponsor, Eton Corporation, who makes it possible for us to provide the incredible value of two information-providing radios for every $30 donation.

Ears To Our World is a US registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions to this project are tax-deductible.

Thank You, Winter SWL Fest!

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Once again, we would like to take a moment to thank the Winter SWL (Shortwave Listening) Fest for their generous and enthusiastic support of ETOW.

swlfest_logoETOW founder and Executive Director, Thomas Witherspoon, attended the 23rd annual event that attracts radios enthusiasts, broadcasters, publishers and hobbyists alike, and was offered a warm reception both by festival hosts and attendees.

This year, the Festival raised more than $900 for ETOW–$700 from the popular silent auction, and over $200 in the form of individual donations. These funds will go a long way toward the support of our ongoing mission of education and international outreach through radio.

But SWL Fest support was not just monetary.  From SWL Fest co-host, Richard Cuff, we received following words of encouragement:

“We’re thrilled to be able to support ETOW.

“The work that you’re doing with ETOW helps us remember that radio is a tool that can make a positive difference in the world. We’re grateful that individuals within the Fest community donate directly to ETOW and we’re grateful to be able to support your work via the Silent Auction.

“We hope 2010 brings much success to ETOW as it continues to make a difference in areas lacking in news and information.”

Thank you very much, Richard!  Thanks, too, to co-host John Figliozzi, and last but not least, to all Winter Fest friends and SWLers who support us so very enthusiastically.  Your belief in the power of radio is well-founded, and your spirited support of ETOW is truly appreciated.

Hats off to our friends of the ‘Fest!

Etón Will Match Your Donation To Our Radios to Haiti Program

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Just $30 buys and sends not one, but two, radios to Haiti, thanks to a generous radio matching program from Etón Corporation!

radiostohaiti

Ears To Our World is delighted to announce that a donation of just $30 to ETOW–the  retail price of Etón’s FR150 or FR160–will pay for the purchase of a self-powered (wind-up) radio, as well as its shipment to Haiti, care of our cargo-carrying partner Operation USA. But what’s more,  Etón Corporation has magnanimously offered to match each individual radio donation one-to-one–meaning, just $30 will now buy and send two wind-up radios to Haiti.

This is a wonderful opportunity to maximize your donation dollar, and help those in Haiti who desperately need the reliable information a self-powered radio can provide about where and when to receive food, water, and medical care, as well as news, weather, and more.

Choose Donation Amount

If you represent a government agency or company and would like to buy several cases of radios at a time, please contact us for details.

Radios To Haiti Update: 300+ Additional Etón-Donated Radios

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eton logoEtón Corporation, in response to our Radios To Haiti initiative, has generously donated over 300 self-powered radios to Ears To Our World for immediate shipment to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, through our logistics partner, Operation USA.

Moreover, in addition to these radios, Etón has donated over 450 self-powered flashlights to be shipped along with the radios.

Ears To Our World would like to thank Etón Corporation and its CEO, Esmail Amid-Hozour, for sponsorship and continued support of our mission as it expands to help those in immediate need in Haiti.

Radios to Haiti Update: ETOW Ships Over 100 Self-Powered Radios to Haiti

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etowboxes1…And we hope to ship even more.

The response from our Radios to Haiti fund drive, launched only last week, has been truly remarkable.  We wish to thank all that have donated, as well as the volunteers who helped prepare and pack the radios at such short notice.

op_usaWe have partnered with Operation USA to deliver and distribute our radios to the areas of Haiti affected by the earthquake. Operation USA is a charity that specializes in logistics; their sole purpose is to deliver aid to countries in need, such as Haiti, and for this reason they can do so quickly and efficiently. ETOW is pleased to be partnering with this reputable organization; we look forward to sending more radios to Haiti in the very near future.

Radios to Haiti: Information Is Relief to Haiti’s Earthquake Victims

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haitiearthquakeepicenterAt ETOW, we know that in times of crisis, the dissemination of basic information is of extreme importance; it can save lives.

Therefore, although sending radios to Haiti following that country’s recent devastating earthquake broadens the scope of our usual program, in light of the dire emergency the country now faces, ETOW has decided to extend our reach beyond schools and teachers, to distribute a substantial number of Eton Corporation-donated ETOW radios to individuals in remote and impoverished areas affected by the recent earthquake.

ETOW’s wind-up radios, which also have a built-in flashlight, may provide life-saving medical and food/water supply information to families and communities.

On a side note, we are very grateful to hear reports from our partner organization, the American Haitian Foundation, that the community of Petite-Rivière-de-Nippes in Haiti has reported no loss of life, and the ETOW radios they previously received are providing a useful link with other islands.

We will provide further updates on our special Radios to Haiti program as they become available.

ETOW Featured in Popular Communications

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Click to enlarge.

Click here to download full article. Courtesy of Popular Communications magazine.

Dear Friends of ETOW,

ETOW has had an incredible first year–from the donation of our first radios to their distribution in seven countries on three continents, from Eastern Europe to Africa and Haiti–we’ve seen healthy growth in our young organization. We’re delighted and encouraged by our many empowering partnerships, as well, which have truly made our successes possible–such as that with the Empower Campaign, a stellar organization which is helping to build much-needed schools in Uganda, and which is now distributing ETOW radios to these same schools.

Our cover feature in December’s international magazine, Popular Communications, sums up our year with hope for a bright future. See pages 14-19 for our story, Greg Majewski’s excellent supporting article on page 22, and editor Edith Lennon’s wonderful editorial on page 4.

We hope you’ve had a good year, too, and will continue to stay interested in and involved with Ears to Our World.

May blessings abound and peace reign throughout our listening world…

Warm thanks,
Thomas.

Thomas Witherspoon
Founder/Director,
EARS TO OUR WORLD.

Download full article here–courtesy of Popular Communications.