The United Negro College Fund (UNCF)/Omni-Channel Radio Radiothon’s goal is to raise $25,000. The 12-hour radiothon, starting at 9 a.m./CST and ending at 9 p.m./CST on Friday, April 25, includes award-winning celebrities, music legends and entertainers, and features a Special Tribute to Frankie Beverly from 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m./CST.
In celebration of UNCF’s 81st anniversary, the Second Annual UNCF/Omni-Channel Radio Radiothon theme is “$25 – 25 – $25” – UNCF is encouraging 1,000 listeners to donate $25 on April 25, 2025 (Founder’s Day) to raise $25,000 in one day. The 12-hour LIVE STREAM event will be broadcast and video streamed on the Omni-Channel Radio App. Audio and video will also be live streamed at www.OmniChannelRadio.com. Donations can immediately be made now and throughout the radiothon at www.OmniChannelRadio.com. Click the UNCF tab. When making a donation, add “OMNI” to the “Honoring” line. All donations will go directly to UNCF. Supporters also can call the Chicago UNCF office at 312-845-2200 to make a monetary donation.
Adapting the format of the United Negro College Fund Telethon (formerly the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon for UNCF), which was televised for several decades, the second UNCF/Omni-Channel Radio Radiothon will feature a “parade” of local and national celebrities who will call in to the station to talk about their career and urge the global audience to donate to UNCF.
The entire day of Omni-Channel Radio programming will be dedicated to UNCF, from 9 a.m./CST to 9 p.m./CST on Friday, April 25. UNCF President and CEO Dr. Michael L. Lomax and Lisa Rollins, Regional Development Director, UNCF, as well as a host of entertainers and celebrity supporters are expected, including: Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Russell Thompkins Jr. (The New Stylistics), Gerald Alston (The Manhattans), Lenny Williams, Ray Parker Jr., entertainer Earl Turner, Dr. Bobbie Jones, Evelyn “Champagne” King, Little Anthony, Merald “Bubba” Knight (original member Gladys Knight and the Pips), Wanda Vaughn (Emotions), Antonio Fargas (Huggy Bear), David Banks (Enchantment), Slique Jay Adams, Billy Brown (Ray, Goodman & Brown), Miki Howard, Lynn Colbert, Maurice Mahon (Chicago Idol winner), The Spinners, Howard Hewett, Keith Washington, and the Tribute to Frankie Beverly featuring Roame Lowery (original member of Maze featuring Frankie Beverly) and Jubu Smith (the lead guitarist at the time of his passing).
From 2023 – 2024, there were 310 students in Illinois who received UNCF scholarships. Each year, UNCF awards more than $100 million in scholarships to students attending more than 1,100 schools across the country including its prestigious network of 37 HBCUs. Seventy percent of Black doctors attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) schools. Fifty percent of Black lawyers attended HBCU schools. Eighty percent of Black judges attended HBCU schools. Former Vice President Kamala Harris attended Howard University, an HBCU school; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., attended Morehouse, an HBCU school; and others including Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Toni Morrison, Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen, Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Stephen A. Smith, and Oprah Winfrey all attended HBCU schools. HBCU schools are open to all ethnicities.
Invited special guests include: new history-making filibuster holder Sen. Cory Booker, Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett; comedian/actress Luenell; recording artists Melba Moore, J Floyd (singer/songwriter), Regina Belle, Smokey Robinson, Johnny Gill, Martha Reeves, Jeffrey Osborne, Angela Winbush, Al Green, Heatwave, Rose Royce, Copeland Davis (pianist); radio host/auctioneer Gee Scott; former actress, model, and singer Kathleen Bradley; and Jalen Hurts, the first Black Philadelphia Eagles quarterback to win a Super Bowl.