‘WIDR ALL NIDR’ offers night of community and fundraising | Arts And Entertainment

Western Michigan University’s national award-winning radio station, WIDR, hosted their fundraising event “WIDR ALL NIDR” Nov. 14 in the Student Center.

The event, which was last hosted in 2023, boasted an all-night radio takeover with DJs playing music on the station from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., as well as games, food and refreshments.

With a goal of $3,000 to $5,000, funds raised by the “WIDR ALL NIDR” will go towards new equipment and transportation and temporary living in New York City for the next Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Awards, where earlier in the year WIDR was named Best Overall Station in the country for the 2024-2025 award season.

“That’s something we’re very proud of, we want to keep up the momentum,” said Lukas Filcek, DJ and member of the music team at WIDR. 

He continued: “We’d love to be able to win this back-to-back for consecutive years. That would just be an amazing dream.”

According to WIDR General Manager Dan Hubble, the win was a testament to the work ethic of WIDR directors and volunteers.

“We do a lot of hard work, especially on the directors’ ends of things,” Hubble said. “But I can’t understate the work that our volunteers have done too. Without our volunteers, we wouldn’t have people on air, and that’s such an important part of our station.”

Those involved with WIDR were invited to enjoy pizza and refreshments while bonding with each other by mingling and playing video games. The community aspect of the event was highlighted alongside the fundraising goal. 

“It’s not just a fundraiser, but also a time for our volunteers to get together and have a fun time and meet each other if they haven’t met each other before,” Hubble said. “We have a lot of new people, and so it’s important for them to meet all the other new people.”

He continued: “It’s really hard to find a time where everyone is available, especially with the way that we work kind of independently and remotely. So community is really something important that I want to have more of in the station.”

Filcek was particularly looking forward to the opportunity to meet and bond with others involved with WIDR.

“I’ve been really excited for this specific event because it’s a chance to get to know these people quite a bit more,” said Filcek. “I’ve made some good friends here at WIDR, and it’s a great community to be a part of.”

Donations are not reserved strictly for the “WIDR ALL NIDR;” those interested in donating can do so on WIDR’s website—something that is invaluable, according to Hubble.

“It’s never too late to donate and support student media,” he said. “Support from listeners is instrumental and makes a lot of what we do possible.”

To donate to WIDR and learn more about the station, visit their website at www.widrfm.org.