The YWCA Jamestown’s Broadscast team includes, from left to right, Indo Quinones, Cienna Simon, Hillary Belin, and Alize Scott. The Broadscast show will air on WRFA-LP in Jamestown every Friday at 2 p.m. and every Sunday at 11 a.m. Funding for the program is made possible through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Rescue Plan Act stabilization fund.

First Episode to Premier Friday, Sept. 30 with Special Guest Sukayna Burman

JAMESTOWN, NY – A new, locally-produced radio program and podcast focusing on various social and women’s issues affecting the community is making its debut this fall in Jamestown.

YWCA Jamestown is collaborating with WRFA-LP (107.9 FM) to present the YWCA Jamestown’s “Broadscast” radio show. The program will be broadcast twice a week on 107.9 FM in Jamestown and all episodes will also be available “on demand” online.

YWCA Jamestown’s Broadscast will feature members of the local YWCA Jamestown team – Hillary Belin, Indo Quinones, Alize Scott, and Cienna Simon – discussing a variety of issues and topics with various guests from the Jamestown and Chautauqua Region. The program will cover a wide range of topics, including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) issues; racial justice and civil rights; empowerment and economic advancement of women and girls; and health and safety of women and girls. The first season of the Broadscast program runs for 30 episodes and was scheduled to start on Friday, Sept. 30.

“YWCA Jamestown has been at the forefront of addressing several important issues facing Jamestown and Chautauqua County. We’ve wanted to educate our listeners about these issues, but due to limited staffing at the radio station, we’ve been unable to give them the focus and attention they deserve,” explained Jason Sample, WRFA station manager. “That’s why we reached out to YWCA Jamestown to see if they could assist us in this effort and we are grateful they were willing to work with us on this exciting new project.”

“This partnership provides the YWCA Jamestown with an additional opportunity to meet our mission of eliminating racism and empowering women. Each week we will work to bring subjects and topics that address racial and gender inequality and highlight issues that women in our community care about,” said Amanda Geising, YWCA Jamestown executive director, adding, “We are looking forward to hearing more about the passion of our mission and concern for community issues that the YWCA Broadscast team will bring to the local airwaves.”

Funding for the program comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provided WRFA with additional financial support from its American Rescue Plan Act Stabilization fund in 2021.

WRFA is a non-commercial radio station licensed by Reg Lenna Center for the Arts and has been a CPB-funded station for the past several years. Due to its status as a CPB-funded radio station, it automatically received ARPA funding to help offset any losses in local funding shortfalls during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to also bring forward new programs that benefit the Jamestown community. Other WRFA programs made possible through the CPB ARPA funds include monthly live broadcasts of Public Affairs and Arts and Entertainment programming, weekly Spanish Language news reports, live broadcasts of the Jamestown Tarp Skunks baseball team this past summer, a 2022 State Assembly Candidates Debate on Oct. 13, and an upcoming radio documentary series focusing on 10,000 Maniacs, scheduled for release in early 2023.

“WRFA is very excited to be partnering with YWCA Jamestown for this exciting new collaboration,” said Sample. “The radio station has been looking to collaborate with local organizations to bring quality radio programming to our community and the YWCA Jamestown’s Broadscast program is a perfect fit.”

The Broadscast radio program is broadcast every Friday at 2 p.m. on WRFA, with an encore airing taking place every Sunday at 11 a.m. All episodes will also be available for “On Demand” listening at the WRFA website, the YWCA Jamestown website, and also at Soundcloud.com/WRFARadio.