Are you member of the Grand Rapids Community Media Center yet? If not, perhaps you’re not quite sure what they do or why it would make sense to be involved. You’re not alone.
“We’re one of the best kept secrets in Grand Rapids, but that’s not something you want to be,” says Linda Gellasch, director of operations and finance at the Grand Rapids Community Media Center (GRCMC).
She says people are aware of certain programs and projects, but there is not an awareness of the Community Media Center as a whole and this nonprofit, membership-based organization hopes to change that.
One step toward this goal is the recent hiring in January of a development director, a position GRCMC has not had for a very long time. Gellasch says the new director, Carol Shirey, is “getting her feet wet quickly” in an organization that is “somewhat cumbersome to get your mind around at times.”
The GRCMC collection of different media programs and projects contains WYCE Radio, two GRTV cable access channels, the new Rapidian hyper local citizen journalism website, IT and web development services for nonprofits, the historic Wealthy Theatre and educational services, including MoLLIE -- the Mobile Learning Lab for Information Education.
Even though each area has different funding methods, GRCMC operates financially as a collective organization with one budget, sharing expenses for items such as administration, facilities, utilities and more. Gellasch says this method is much less expensive than if you had to run a radio station or a theatre by itself.
She also adds the reason for this cooperative model of shared expenses and resources is that some areas bring in more money than others. For example, WYCE Radio is nearly supported by donations, but The Rapidian and Wealthy Theatre are not yet self-supporting so they make use of CMC general fund monies.
When you become a member of GRCMC, you get access to all services such as the ability to book venues like Wealthy Theatre and satellite spaces; using venue services, production equipment and facilities; receiving members-only ticket discounts and pre-sales; becoming a programmer on WYCE; and getting discounts on media and technology classes. You’ll also receive member communications and obtain voting rights on bylaws and to select board members.
GRCMC offers something for everyone -- whether you like music, reading, writing, movies, live events or if you’d like to get involved with television or radio. Nonprofit organizations can benefit from the many services as well, and at costs much lower than what they would normally pay.
“We see ourselves as having a bunch of tools for the community and we’re here to teach you how to use them,” says Gellasch.
Support your community by supporting the Grand Rapids Community Media Center. There are many ways you can help:
- Find out more about the
Community Media Center online.
-
Become a member. Memberships range from $12 for a basic membership to $72 for a nonprofit organization membership.
-
Donate to the Community Media Center.
-
Volunteer in a number of different ways.
- Sign up for GRCMC
newsletters.
- Listen to WYCE at 88.1 FM or
online and support its sponsors.
- Watch
GRTV on Comcast cable channel 25 and Livewire on channel 24.
- Read The
Rapidian, support its
sponsors and become a citizen journalist.
- Attend events at the
Wealthy Theatre.
- Like on Facebook:
GRCMC
WYCE
GRTV
Wealthy Theatre
The Rapidian
Education Services
- Follow on Twitter:
@GRCMC
@WYCERadio
@GRTVaccess
@WealthyTheatre
@TheRapidian
@CatalystRadioGR
Sources: Linda Gellasch, Director of Operations and Finance at the Grand Rapids Community Media Center, and Carol Shirey, Development Director
Writer: Heidi Stukkie, Do Good Editor (and, in full disclosure, also an intern with WYCE’s Catalyst Radio show)
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