As originally broadcast July 17, 2024, on Blue Ridge PBS …
Celebrate a milestone with us as we present our 50th episode of BUZZ on PBS!
BUZZ has earned 2 Emmy Award nominations!
Our “Staying Connected through Art at Roanoke City Public Schools” episode — produced in partnership with Roanoke Cultural Endowment and Art in Roanoke — received the nod in the Education/Schools (Long Form Content) category. And our feature of The Least of These homeless shelter was nominated in the Societal Concerns (Long Form Content) category.
BUZZ is now on in California!
Carol Jessee, former executive director of Southwest Virginia Ballet, which we featured in our first episode in 2020, texted us: “Just got a note from a friend who lives in LA saying he turned his TV on and there I was! The ballet Buzz4good was on!!! WOW! Congrats!”
Dear friends:
In addition to BUZZ, I also work for the nonprofit Friends of the Blue Ridge, which recently introduced me to the multi-talented Addie Levy.
The 21-year-old Radford native – who now splits her time between Nashville and Dollywood – headlined Friends’ ON THE RISE concerts in Roanoke and Asheville featuring phenomenal up-and-coming Bluegrass sensations.
Buzz4Good won a Judge’s Choice Award and Silver Addy at the 2024 Western Virginia Advertising Awards Gala for our “It’s Here” video highlighting Roanoke, Virginia’s arts scene. The music video was produced as part of our “Arts and Economic Development” episode that aired in June 2023.
As originally broadcast on January 5, 2024, on Alabama Public Television …
Food, shelter … diapers? For low-income moms struggling to get by, diapers are a vital, and expensive, necessity that aren’t covered by government assistance. Too many caregivers in Alabama – including grandmothers – have to make the hard choice between diapers and utilities, clothing, even medicine.
In the final part of BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill’s 4-part series in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, he meets Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank, which each month distributes more than 150,000 free diapers and other essential products to 3,300 low-income families in Central Alabama. Martin Advertising / Martin Retail Group steps up to provide Bundles with a lot of marketing help — and hope.
This episode is sponsored in part by the Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation.
As originally broadcast on December 29, 2023, on Alabama Public Television …
America was founded on hope and opportunity. And for folks from Hispanic countries, that dream is as alive today as ever. But navigating a foreign land and language is hard and not for the faint of heart.
In part 3 of BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill’s 4-part series in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, there’s thankfully a nonprofit full of heart: the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, or ¡HICA! A community development and advocacy organization, HICA champions economic equality, civic engagement, and social justice for Latino families.
Coming up on BUZZ on Alabama Public Television:
Jan 5 at 8:30 pm
Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank
Food, shelter … diapers? Too many low-income mom and grandmothers in Alabama have to make the hard choice between diapers and utilities, clothing, even medicine. Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank each month distributes more than 150,000 free diapers and other essential products to 3,300 low-income families in Central Alabama. Martin Advertising / Martin Retail Group steps up to provide Bundles with a lot of marketing help — and hope.
Many thanks to the Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation for helping underwrite our production.
As originally broadcast on December 22, 2023, on Alabama Public Television …
In part 2 of BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill’s 4-part series in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, he visits the nonprofit Studio by the Tracks, where the autistic meet the artistic. This studio and gallery provides a social network and career path that enriches the lives of artists who have autism and betters the community.
Swell Fundraising donates its time and talent to help Studio by the Tracks achieve more … buzz.
Coming up on BUZZ on Alabama Public Television:
Dec. 29, 7:30 pm & Dec. 31, 1:00 pm
Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama
America was founded on hope and opportunity. And for folks from Hispanic countries, that dream is as alive today as ever. But navigating a foreign land and language is hard and not for the faint of heart. Thankfully the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, or ¡HICA! is full of heart. A community development and advocacy organization, HICA champions economic equality, civic engagement, and social justice for Latino families.
Jan 5 at 8:30 pm
Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank
Food, shelter … diapers? Too many low-income mom and grandmothers in Alabama have to make the hard choice between diapers and utilities, clothing, even medicine. Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank each month distributes more than 150,000 free diapers and other essential products to 3,300 low-income families in Central Alabama. Martin Advertising / Martin Retail Group steps up to provide Bundles with a lot of marketing help — and hope.
Many thanks to the Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation for helping underwrite our production.
We hope you enjoy this highlight reel of our Top 10 buzz-worthy moments of 2023 … and look forward to highlighting and helping even more nonprofits in 2024!
No. 10: The Y is more than a workout as we showed in our episode starring YMCA of Virginia’s Blue Ridge. See the stories of some at-risk teens served by “Rise 540.” Watch full episode.
No. 9: Nonprofits literally do everything – from homeless shelters and children’s art programs to organizations like the Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program that helps entrepreneurs design cutting-edge drugs and patent portable optical laser cutters. Watch full episode.
No. 8: The Roanoke City Public Schools arts program teaches kids how to dance, sing, paint, sculpt, play a stringed instrument, march in the band, produce digital music … and recycling and turtle-stacking? Watch full episode.
No. 7: How excited was the Community Foundation of the New River Valley when it soared past its goal for the 10th annual GiveLocalNRV? Watch full episode.
No. 6: With its scenic waterfalls, hiking trails, gurgling streams and star-gazing skies, Alta Mons pulses with divinity for the thousands of people who retreat each year at the 800-acre eastern Montgomery County camp. But its human heart beats within one man: Jim Pearman. Watch full episode.
No. 5: We buzzed at the chance to talk to Virginia Tech’s Liz Kitley, Kenny Brooks and Brent Pry for our episode starring The Hokie Way, which helps VT athletes use their Name, Image and Likeness to promote local nonprofits. One of those nonprofits is the Lifering Foundation, founded by Kelly Woolwine amidst incredible suffering. Watch full episode.
No. 4: We’re fortunate to have Dan Mirolli in our hive as our cinematographer. His work really buzzes in our episode featuring The Least of These homeless ministry at night. Watch full episode.
No. 3: How proud is Norma Mondragon’s mother for the life she has built thanks to Literacy Volunteers of the New River Valley? Watch full episode.
No. 2: BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill returns to his hometown of Birmingham where he connects with old friends and his alma mater to produce episodes on four impactful nonprofits that began airing in December on Alabama Public Television.
No. 1: In our most viewed video of 2023, musicians Bryan “Harvest Blaque” Hancock and J.P. Powell – joined by Roanoke Symphony maestro David Stewart Wiley, Opera Roanoke’s Brooke Tolley, Roanoke Cultural Endowment’s Shaleen Powell, and the Roanoke Valley Children’s Choir – provide the artistic beat for what makes Roanoke, Virginia, a great place for business. Watch full episode.
“You mean my Dad won’t be here on my marry day?”
These were 4-year-old Caroline Bennett’s first words when she learned her father, a Birmingham Police officer, had been shot and killed.
Though Robert Bennett died in 2004, his legacy lives on thanks to the nonprofit we’re featuring in our first “BUZZ in Birmingham” episode that aired December 15, 2023, on Alabama Public Television (and simultaneously on our YouTube channel).
Children of Slain Police Officers, aka COSPO, provides college scholarships to children whose parents were killed in the line of duty while serving in the Birmingham Police Department. In 2023, COSPO funded $100,000 in college expenses for students whose fathers died.
New to BUZZ is marketing pro Swell Fundraising, which helps COSPO reimagine its name and brand to better serve officers’ families for years to come.
Coming up on BUZZ on Alabama Public Television:
Dec. 22 at 8:00 pm
Studio by the Tracks
At this nonprofit in Irondale, the autistic meets the artistic. This studio and gallery provides a social network and career path that enriches the lives of artists who have autism and betters the community. Swell Fundraising donates its time and talent to help Studio by the Tracks achieve more … buzz.
Dec. 29, 7:30 pm & Dec. 31, 1:00 pm
Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama
America was founded on hope and opportunity. And for folks from Hispanic countries, that dream is as alive today as ever. But navigating a foreign land and language is hard and not for the faint of heart. Thankfully the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, or ¡HICA! is full of heart. A community development and advocacy organization, HICA champions economic equality, civic engagement, and social justice for Latino families.
Jan 5 at 8:30 pm
Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank
Food, shelter … diapers? Too many low-income mom and grandmothers in Alabama have to make the hard choice between diapers and utilities, clothing, even medicine. Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank each month distributes more than 150,000 free diapers and other essential products to 3,300 low-income families in Central Alabama. Martin Advertising / Martin Retail Group steps up to provide Bundles with a lot of marketing help — and hope.
Many thanks to the Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation for helping underwrite our production.
