Last Friday, I was invited to attend a Mix 106.5 hosted lunch with 50 women and told there would be hookers. How could I turn that down? As it turned out, the lunch was at the Kazbah, a lavishly appointed Darling Harbour eatery serving high quality middle eastern and north African fare. And yes, there were hookahs, ornamental ones scattered around to add a touch of authenticity to the venue.

Helping charities is a vital activity for radio stations. While assisting a worthy cause, it also helps to cement the station’s bond with the community. Although placing free community service announcements in unsold airtime is an easy way to help out, getting on air staff involved in an activity that enhances the station’s brand can multiply its impact for all concerned. Triple M has delivered a couple of great “promotions for a cause” that illustrate the point over the past few weeks including National Busking Day for the Salvos and Man-Date to encourage men to have more medical check-ups.

At Mix 106.5 Claire Hooper who co-hosts breakfast with Tim Ross, came up with idea of raising both funds and awareness for one of her favourite causes, White Ribbon that campaigns against violence towards women.

Claire, who in another life was an expert seamstress, decided to sew up a pair of one-size-fits all harem pants to emulate the movie Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants.

Claire’s pants have now been passed to 50 women across Australia and as far away as Las Vegas, who have helped raise $10,000 towards White Ribbon. Watch below to see how the journey unfolded

Starting in Sydney, the pants were passed from woman to woman who took a photo of themselves in the pants and uploaded it to our website – click here for the gallery. They then passed the traveling pants on to the next woman who may be a friend, relative, someone they work with, or a complete stranger. Everyone involved helped to raise money for White Ribbon, an organisation devoted to change the attitudes and behaviours that lead to men’s violence against women. To make a donation to White Ribbon now, click here.

Peter Saxon