By Kendra Smith

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WUKY will host its fourth annual Fall Fund Drive to raise money for the public radio station while allowing volunteers to earn some free publicity.

In exchange for local groups or organizations volunteering to answer calls and take financial pledges of varying amounts from listeners, they receive 10 free on-air public service announcements, according to the university.

A group of volunteers can sign up for a full day or multiple shifts.

This event benefits both parties and creates community engagement, according to WUKY membership manager Robert Hansel.

“It helps organizations that don’t have a lot of money for advertising,” Hansel said. “We get their help answering phones for us, and they get the free PSAs.”

Anyone can volunteer, regardless of which group they are associated with, Hansel said. The free PSAs will state the name of the organization, location and contact information.

Though WUKY also provides a short description of the organization, this information is closely monitored.

“We don’t get into what this group is about in terms of if it’s political, if it’s religious… Due to FCC rules, we can’t do that,” Hansel said.

The Federal Communications Commission closely regulates what topics may appear on the air. This prevents controversial messages, such as a call to action, from appearing on the air. Still, WUKY has no restrictions in place for preventing certain groups from receiving the free PSAs.

According to the public announcement sent out by UK President Eli Capilouto last Friday, “We must make clear, as loudly and as often as we can, that our university has no patience for the peddlers of poisonous views.”

Despite this remark, the lack of restriction on volunteer groups may create an association between WUKY, a unit of the university, and a potential for a “peddler of poisonous views.”

Hansel is not concerned, however.

“We’re not set up for an environment like that,” Hansel said. One group participating in the fundraiser this year is the Lexington Farmer’s Market.

“We love to take any opportunity we can to support the radio station,” said Stephanie Wooten, business manager at the Lexington Farmer’s Market. “We’re an organization with a small budget, so it’s important to get the airtime to reach out to our customers about our products and events.”

The Fall Fund Drive will last from Thursday to Oct. 3. Volunteers can sign up on a first come, first serve basis.