Area teens lending a voice to support first responders
Winter Park radio station raises over $30K, expands audience to 10K
Winter Park native Dylan Carollo started a music-based podcast in sixth grade with his friend Nikolai Eggleton, and by the end of the year, it had 30,000 listeners.
“The problem was, the more and more audience you gain on that platform, the more and more expensive it gets,” said Carollo, 17. So they pivoted and founded D100 Radio in 2014, reaching out to artists across the globe, such as BTS in South Korea, to help garner a global audience. Now, the station reaches about 10,000 listeners a day and is available on iHeartRadio and Apple Music.
Lake Highland Preparatory School students Carollo and Eggleton had their hands full during the academic year, helping with music at their school’s events, but that came to a hard stop when the school closed amid the coronavirus pandemic. At the end of March, the two felt called to aid first responders.
“We saw these frontline workers around the country, it was horrific to see what they were going through,” said Carollo. “We said, ‘There has to be a way we could do something with the station because we have an audience and there has to be a way that we could help.’ ”
They came up with an interactive fundraiser in which listeners pay to hear a song request, with proceeds benefiting frontline workers or vaccine research. So far, D100 Radio has raised $30,260.
“We thought it’d be a fun way for the listeners that have a great time with it,” Carollo said. “And it’d be helping a lot of frontline workers because we have we have a major audience.”
The station has partnered with New YorkPresbyterian Hospital; Fire Department of New York Foundation; Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles; Home Base Program, a Red Sox Foundation in Boston; Ochsner Health in New Orleans; Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit; UW Medicine in Seattle; and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
They chose those organizations based on Eggleton’s research into coronavirus hotspots and how funds would be allocated.
“I think it’s helping a great need around the country,” Carollo said.
To ensure there was no extra work on the part of the organizations, D100 Radio created press releases and social media promotion materials.
Those interested in donating can fill out a form at d100radio.com that asks for an email address, the name of the artist, song title and more.
Listeners will select the fund they wish to benefit and have a few donation options from which to choose.
■ $5 for a song request
■ $25 for a wristband and song request
■ $75 for a shirt, wristband and song request
■ $76 and up for an on-air mention, shirt, wristband and song request
Once submitted, the song will play within 30 minutes on D100 Radio.