A brief history of the Camp Out For Hunger and a recap of the 2018 totals.
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00:00July 13th, 1985. It may have been the greatest day in Philly rock history.
00:0590,000 steaming and screaming rock fans packed the stateside half of Live Aid.
00:10Rock's royalty came together in two stadiums, Wembley in London and JFK in Philly, all with one common cause.
00:17Famine relief in the stricken continent of Africa.
00:20People a world away were starving, and music fans and the artists they loved came together to do something about it.
00:27A few years later, on a dramatically smaller scale, two morning show hosts decided to act locally and stage a week-long food drive to aid the people in their own community.
00:38It was the week after Thanksgiving when Preston Elliott and Steve Morrison of Alternative Station Y100 moved into an RV in a hotel parking lot
00:46and spent one week collecting desperately needed items for Phil Abundance, the area's largest food bank.
00:53It was the first ever Camp Out for Hunger.
00:56In 2005, the Preston and Steve show found a new home at Philly's legendary rock station WMMR.
01:03Aligning Camp Out with MMR's vast reach and powerful draw, the week-long event moved to a suburban shopping center.
01:09And the marriage had an immediate impact, yielding 87 tons of food and monetary donations totaling over $10,000.
01:16And each year, the numbers grew.
01:18It got so big that in 2013, Camp Out for Hunger moved to the massive South Philadelphia Stadium complex so it could be more accessible to listeners from Delaware and New Jersey, too.
01:29Preston and Steve's Camp Out for Hunger brought out the best in WMMR's listeners and corporate partners.
01:34Local businesses and high schools and universities competed in friendly food drives.
01:39One partner, Subaru of America, actually conducted seminars for other businesses to help them gather more food.
01:46And Acme Markets went all in with pre-Camp Out collections in the run-up to Thanksgiving and provided an on-site pop-up store so visitors could buy and donate food on location.
01:57Jeep clubs and Porsche lovers compete every year, then parade through the Camp Out with their donations.
02:03MMR's loyal listeners turned out in droves to donate.
02:06What's more, many volunteer to help collect food, load tractor trailers, welcome visitors, and lend a hand however they could.
02:12Several listeners have used vacation weeks from their jobs to aid the cause.
02:15And Camp Out brought people together on a more permanent basis when Preston and Steve conducted a mass wedding uniting more than 60 couples in holy matrimony.
02:23Not surprisingly, Preston and Steve's commitment to entertaining radio is as big a part of the Camp Out as the food drive itself.
02:30Local and national celebrities and athletes call in or stop by for interviews, to donate, and maybe even participate in trivia contests while hurtling on amusement park rides.
02:40At night, comedians, concerts, and movies are all part of the draw.
02:44And all the while, the cast of the Preston and Steve show is available for meet and greets, autographs, and selfies.
02:50And what a difference Camp Out has made.
02:53Every year, previous records are shattered.
02:56In 2018, Preston and Steve's Camp Out for Hunger collected 913 tons of food for Phil Abundance.
03:04And cash donations totaled over $198,000.
03:09What's more, since arriving at MMR, Preston and Steve's Camp Out for Hunger has amassed 5,566 tons of food.
03:17That's over 11.1 million pounds.
03:20And cash donations have topped $1,438,000, all to help Phil Abundance feed our hungry.
03:28And poetically, it all happens just a few hundred yards from the site where Live Aid occurred all those many years ago.
03:36The numbers are big.
03:37They're the result of what happens when a radio station calls on its passionate fans to unite in a common cause.
03:43And although we can fill a warehouse, the true impact happens in every corner of the Delaware Valley,
03:50around dinner tables in anonymous homes where proud parents can feed their families for another night,
03:55and all can rest easier than rise to face another day.
03:59And any day that can happen is a pretty great day in Philly history, too.