Zone 91.3 radio host Jon Williams has raised over $10,000 for local mental-health related charity by creating and selling T-shirts with his radio sign-off slogan printed on them.
“The whole point of what I hope to achieve in radio is to impact and be positive within the community and to lead by example,” says Williams. “This is something that I had to do.”
Williams initially created his sign-off message (as printed on the shirt, “Look after yourself. Have fun. & for goodness sake, smile.”) as a personal reminder to set small achievable goals and take time to look after his mental health.
“The way that I look at things negatively impacting myself is how do I own them, and how do I then use them as strength to continue?” he says. “I was told everyday, ‘Oh, come on, smile, why aren’t you smiling? I started this as a reminder to myself to own being told everyday to smile and using that as power… You need to see it and own it.”
The sign-off message quickly turned into a recognizable phrase that radio listeners in greater Victoria have grown attached to. After a couple of years on air, Williams decided to publicly share his story and his sign-off inspiration.
“It’s easy for me to share now, because I’ve spent 20 years going over it and being at ease with it,” he says. “I’m here and I’ve owned it and I’m okay with it. Don’t feel sorry about it; feel inspired by it.”
When Williams was 10 years old and living in a small town in the south of England he was sexually abused, raped, and nearly drowned. He was misdiagnosed many times with different mental illnesses due to a lack of proper testing or discussion. He now openly tells his story while advocating for mental-health awareness at galas and high schools.
“I went on the air and shared about it, then, I suppose, the sign-off really did kick off, and I’ve had people the last two or three years saying ‘Put it on a shirt.’”
Several months ago, he asked the community if anyone would be interested in what he’s called his #WilliamsofTs. He immediately received 1,000 pre-orders; over 700 of those orders have been filled, quickly surpassing his initial goal of raising a couple thousand dollars for Foundry, a community-based network of health and social service centres for young people age 12-24 and their families. (Email jon@thezone.fm with the subject line “charity” for info on buying a shirt.)
“Foundry caters to so many different people,” Williams says. “It’s the one-stop hub of awesome for youth that would have been massively impactful and influential to me, because I ran away from home a lot, looking for these kinds of places, couldn’t find them. That’s why it had to be Foundry to donate to first.”
Williams says he’s going to put $2,500 to $3,000 of the charity funds directly toward programs supporting 12-to-15-year-olds. He will also be supporting their teen-bonding and friendship-building programs. #WilliamsofTs have been sold to people in India and France, as well as throughout Canada and the US.