Unsung Heroes of Live for 175; An Intern’s Perspective on Child Abuse Prevention

If you cycled during the mid-day during Live for 175, you may have seen a bubbly, blonde intern by my side.  She was one of the many unsung heroes of Live for 175 - Year 10!

That bubbly face was Intern Lauren.  She's a week away from graduation at CWI and loves talking about anything pop culture. (Seriously, if you've seen a cool music video, Lauren can tell you all about it.)  I can't say thank you enough for all of her hard work during Live for 175. Whether it was pulling each day's broadcast, running to pick up our t-shirts as they were being finished, making a list of groups cycling for Keke, filling an empty bike seat or anything else we needed her to do, Lauren was there to do it and did it with a smile!  Her hard work helped the staff be able to focus on you guys and your stories instead of all the time consuming behind the scenes work. She even volunteered to run the Robert Manwill 5K on finale Saturday, even though she doesn't run!

Last year she participated in Live for 175 as a cyclist, but had a very different perspective of our child abuse prevention campaign.  She was nice enough to write a guest blog for us about her experience as an intern!

An Intern's Perspective on Live for 175

By: Intern Lauren

As being relatively new to Live for 175 I wasn’t sure what to quite expect during my internship with Michelle Heart. I imagined so many things in my mind from dancing, to games and other fun interaction with the cyclists.

What I didn’t imagine were the hearing the stories about the impact that every single DJ at 103.5 KISS FM has made on the community. Don’t get me wrong all of those fun moments I thought of did happen, but what stuck out to me the most was that the DJs didn’t just listen to listener’s stories; they would cling onto them as if it happened to their own loved ones.

Hearing the stories on the radio is one thing but seeing how involved every single DJ is in the cause and the connection they make with everyone who comes out to support the message that "it shouldn’t hurt to be a child" is truly something worth watching.

I have witnessed so many people not only coming out of their shell to share this heart wrenching stories, but feeling safe for the first time in a long time. From Michelle pouring her heart on the radio about Mandi a fellow rider, volunteer and friend the station lost last June to listeners coming up to Kekeluv just to ask for a hug...this is what this campaign is all about! Live for 175 isn’t just speaking out against child abuse, it’s letting people finally feel safe for the first time in some of their lives. helping them feel connected and like they matter in the world.