Erin Van Ness writesThere’s No Place Like CHIRP

Over the course of our Fall Membership Drive, we’re sharing some of the inspiring stories we receive from our volunteers and members. Today, one of our inaugural volunteers describes how CHIRP helped make Chicago a place to call home.

I stumbled across CHIRP within a few months of moving to Chicago in 2007 and found out later that I was one of the first volunteers. CHIRP was a lifeline to me when I was new to the city and played a huge role in Chicago gradually becoming home. The fact that those were early days for CHIRP has always amazed me, because right from the start, the organization felt so much bigger than the sum of its parts. I’d been involved in community radio and DJing before, but I was a little intimidated at first by how organized and visionary that initial group was. And yet, at heart it was just a group of music and broadcasting nerds passionate about what they loved and determined to create something great for the city.

My very first job out of public policy school was at Radio Free Europe, and if I’m honest with myself I took that job because of the R.E.M. song, because I wanted to go to Prague (I did), and because I wanted to be on air (I never was). Several years later I’ve accidentally found a broadcasting gig. When people ask me if I would want a career in radio, I say I have one, at CHIRP—ultimately a far more meaningful endeavor to me than commercial radio. And when friends ask me if I plan on staying in Chicago, the CHIRP community is at the very top of the reasons I’ve decided this is home.

The best part about CHIRP to me is the DJs’ desire to share their love and enthusiasm. No matter how obscure or how mainstream your tastes may run, there’s an underlying respect and curiosity about different musical tastes and genres, and I hope that comes across in our programming. No one’s ever laughed at me for liking Falco!

—Elizabeth Ramborger
Volunteer, DJ, Board Member, and Donor since 2007

Agree that CHIRP is a vital service worth supporting? You can always:

• Learn about volunteering CHIRP Radio is always accepting new volunteers. No experience in radio required—just an enthusiastic attitude and a willingness to pitch in!
• Become a member CHIRP needs more than just birdseed to run the station. Show your support by becoming a member today!
• Share your story What does CHIRP Radio mean to you? Let us know and we may feature your story in future materials!

Erin Van Ness writesPioneering the Future of Radio

Over the course of our Fall Membership Drive, we’re sharing some of the inspiring stories we receive from our volunteers and members. Today, long-time CHIRP supporter Scott Brendel explains what makes CHIRP Radio different from traditional radio outlets.

There is more music out there other than what your car stereo currently has to offer. I donate to CHIRP Radio because it is truly independent from corporate sponsors and record companies determining what music gets put on the airwaves. The only way to achieve such independence is through support from donors like you and me. By eliminating the idea that radio is only a tool to sell goods and services (with the occasional catchy tune thrown in) CHIRP has given listeners a real choice in the music they listen to rather than just the illusion of one.

CHIRP is a pioneer in the unexplored world of streaming, independent, and uninhibited radio that gives them the unique opportunity to curate all their programming without the drawbacks of commercial breaks and repeating playlists. I have found that when the CHIRP DJs talk, it is to let their listeners know about the music that they are playing rather than to sell a product. From new releases to independent music labels to foreign and old classics, the variety of music being played is limitless.

CHIRPRadio.org is a great place to visit to expand one’s horizons on music both new and old. It is CHIRP’s uninhibited freedom of music that will continue to get my donations in the future.

—Scott Brendel
CHIRP Member since 2010

Agree that CHIRP is a vital service worth supporting? You can always:

• Learn about volunteering CHIRP Radio is always accepting new volunteers. No experience in radio required—just an enthusiastic attitude and a willingness to pitch in!
• Become a member CHIRP needs more than just birdseed to run the station. Show your support by becoming a member today!
• Share your story What does CHIRP Radio mean to you? Let us know and we may feature your story in future materials!

Erin Van Ness writesGearing up for the Fall Membership Drive!

We here at CHIRP just love our membership drives! After all, with every new member comes a new story, telling tales of inspiration, admiration, encouragement, and gratitude. We receive so many kind and thoughtful words of support, that it would be a shame to keep them all to ourselves. We hope you’ll visit us over the next two weeks as we share some of the stories about the impact CHIRP is making on the Chicago community and beyond.

To kick off our Fall Membership Drive, veteran volunteer James Vest shares why he devotes his time to supporting the mission we call CHIRP.

Imagine if every major art gallery in the country was owned and run by a handful of companies. Every city had the same collection of galleries, arranged by the same commoditized genres, exhibiting the same few pieces of art. What if those companies helped pass a law that prohibited smaller, local galleries out of concern that their art might interfere with the larger conglomerates. If this happened, would you do something about it?

Radio was a lot like that when I joined The Chicago Independent Radio Project three years ago. Since then, CHIRP has helped overturn a federal law prohibiting low-power FM radio stations in major metropolitan areas, providing hope that we, and other stations like us, can eventually apply for a low-power FM license. CHIRP has also launched a wildly successful internet station that gave a group of radio and music enthusiasts a voice through a vast collection of music, personalities, and creative talent as diverse as Chicago itself.

I joined CHIRP because I believe radio stations should be involved with and reflect the unique communities they serve. Like a local art gallery, community radio informs, inspires, empowers and challenges the listener’s perspective while expanding our understanding of music and the cultures that produce it. Independent radio stations like CHIRP host a wide variety of music that reflects our cultural backgrounds, regional identity and our country’s collective legacy.

I am proud to be a part of CHIRP, a commercial-free, volunteer-run organization. Through the support of grants, donations and community volunteers like me and hopefully you, what CHIRP has accomplished in the past few years will only be the beginning.

—James Vest
CHIRP Volunteer Since 2009

Agree that CHIRP is a vital service worth supporting? You can always:

• Learn about volunteering CHIRP Radio is always accepting new volunteers. No experience in radio required—just an enthusiastic attitude and a willingness to pitch in!
• Become a member CHIRP needs more than just birdseed to run the station. Show your support by becoming a member today!
• Share your story What does CHIRP Radio mean to you? Let us know and we may feature your story in future materials!