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Hispanic campaign for St. Jude feels pinch in Memphis, Tenn.(Commercial Appeal, The (Memphis, TN) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 27--In a sign that economic woes are having a big impact on Hispanics in Memphis, donations to last week's Spanish-language radio campaign for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital dipped for the second year in a row. As of Tuesday, the preliminary tally stood at $135,000, a 23 percent drop compared to last year, and far less than the $213,000 the radio campaign raised in 2006. "The economy is a big factor," said Mariel Loaiza, program director for WGSF-1030 AM and partner station WIVG-FM 96.1, which ran the campaign Thursday and Friday. "There's many people who didn't work as much as they did last year and the year before." St. Jude treats many Hispanic patients with cancer and other catastrophic diseases and has extensive operations in Latin America, helping make it a popular charity among Memphis-area immigrants. This was the 10th year there's been a Spanish-language radio campaign in Memphis. Immigrants from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America make up a disproportionate number of workers in construction, a field that's been hit hard by the decline of the housing industry. But an economic slowdown is also affecting immigrants in manufacturing and the service sector, according to an analysis by the Inter-American Development Bank, which surveyed 5,000 Latin American immigrants across the country in February. The survey found that only half of immigrants said they were sending home money, compared to 73 percent polled in 2006. The bank also said immigrants face a harsher social and political climate. Illegal immigrants face new enforcement pressure from state and local governments, and federal agents are arresting more immigrants at work sites. There have been few job-site immigration raids in the Memphis area recently, but last year, some illegal immigrants interviewed in Memphis said employers were checking workers' documents more carefully, making it harder for them to use fake documents to obtain jobs. Despite the downturn in Memphis and some other cities, St. Jude's nationwide Hispanic radio fundraising campaign continues to grow, said Evelyn Homs, Hispanic marketing director for the hospital. The campaign has raised $25 million in pledges since its start in 1997 and now includes 75 stations. Loaiza said she's pleased that the stations were able to raise so much money, despite the economic problems. "For me, it was a great deal," she said. To see more of The Commercial Appeal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.commercialappeal.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |