Radio team uses philanthropy as a way to entertain, connect audience

The studio has the potential to be sweltering, thanks to the nearly floor-to-ceiling window that overlooks Pembina Highway, one of the city’s busiest streets.

But it’s busier inside the studio, where four people jockey around microphones and digital screens, chatting about the day’s topic du jour: Fluffy, adorable ducklings.

Ace Burpee’s face lights up with genuine delight as he tells his listeners about a viral TikTok video in which a mother duck and her hatchlings are gently escorted through a Winnipeg high school’s closed courtyard and long hallways to a nearby field.

At first listen, the morning radio show at Virgin 103.1 FM in Winnipeg is as fluffy as the ducklings.

But underneath is an overall philosophy that has kept Burpee and his morning show co-hosts Chrissy Troy and Lloyd The Intern (affectionately known as LTI) together on the air for more than 20 years: Do good.

Radio philanthropy

Burpee’s name is familiar to anyone who has spent time in Winnipeg. He is everywhere—donating his face, time, or goods to a charitable event, helping everyone he can, from larger organizations to lone Winnipeggers in a jam.

Doing a morning radio show focused on helping others isn’t your typical modus operandi. Generally speaking, radio morning shows are about entertaining the masses, not helping them.

But Burpee is pragmatic about his approach. 

“It was all just, like, so new to us,” he said about heading a morning show. “It seemed like (doing good) was the best direction to take it in … what more can we do to help?”

Over the past two decades, Burpee, Troy, and LTI have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities, mostly by encouraging their listeners to join them in donating money, goods, or time.

But their specialty is rapidly responding to immediate needs. In 2012, a Winnipeg man lost his entire family in a house fire. Originally from Pakistan, the man wanted to bury his wife, mother and three daughters in his home country, but the cost was prohibitive at $26,000.

Burpee and his team quickly set up a fund for the family at a local credit union, and the funds were raised in hours.

In 2018, when the trio learned that St. Amant Centre, which supports people with developmental disabilities, didn’t have a swing for wheelchair users, it rallied two local companies and the community to raise funds and install the swing. 

It was the first of its kind in the city.

“We are super excited to see this all come together,” Burpee said at the time.

“It was really cool to do,” added Troy. “They were obviously so appreciative of it, and it was so needed.

“It changed so many people’s lives, just in terms of accessibility and inclusion.”

One of Troy’s favourite accomplishments was raising funds for a child with cerebral palsy who needed an expensive mechanical vest.

“Remember that little boy, who needed a vest just for breathing?” she asked the team. “That was special.”

Another of the team’s accomplishments? Reviving Winnipeg’s annual Terry Fox Run, which was on the verge of being cancelled in 2014 due to a lack of volunteers.

Burpee jumped in to take over and was co-chair for five years.

“I’m always surprised at the things that you can get done just in this room,” said Lloyd, looking around the studio.

“We’ve had lots of firsts.”

And it’s not just the big things. The team has helped with everything from finding families warm clothing, to giving folks short on cash local grocery gift cards.

“Realistically, we don’t think anything is impossible,” said Burpee. “We’ll figure it out, and there are always people in the city that are willing to help us figure it out.”

The cost is the mental health toll

Historically, Winnipeg’s reputation has been linked with social injustice, poverty and crime. Ten years ago, the prairie metropolis was home to two of the three poorest postal codes in Canada, and the city of 750,000 continues to struggle with a number of social issues related to poverty and intergenerational trauma.

“I’m well aware of what people think of Winnipeg,” said Burpee. “I’m always the underdog guy, and we are always going to be an underdog city.” 

“My default setting was always decidedly pro-Winnipeg, and (I want to) fight for the best for this city.”

“I get very offended when people get down on it,” added Troy. “There’s so many amazing things that happen here.”

Burpee said he’s grateful people even let them into their lives to help.

“In doing so, they have to share lots of awful things about themselves and their situation,” he said.

Those awful things can take a mental health toll on the team, however.

Burpee is a staunch supporter of mental health initiatives and creditshis co-hosts and producer, Amber Saleem, with helping him and the team stay grounded and connected.

It’s helpful when everyone on the team are also excellent friends, said Lloyd.

“We’re good at keeping it light in serious moments,” said Lloyd. “I can take him out of (a hard moment) at any time and he can be the same for me in the room.”

“We all have very different strengths and weaknesses, and somehow, that is our best gift,” added Saleem. 

“We are so different that everything gets covered off.”

“You know that I do think helps,” said Burpee, “is none of us grew up fancy. As in, we don’t come from money or clout or anything like that.”

“There aren’t any of those situations that we don’t (mostly) understand already. We know what people are actually dealing with.”

“You cannot replace that. It’s impossible.”

That friendship and understanding translate into an entertaining and positive vibe. The team sometimes works out problems together, live, during their morning show. 

Listeners will often help by calling or texting in their ideas until a problem is solved.

Burpee said the connection between them and their listeners has led to some of their “biggest wins.” 

“From having no plan to like, ‘Hey, what’s the problem? We better figure this out.’

“It’s the best.”

Replicating the success

The positive, community-minded mojo behind the show seems to be a recipe for success for both the team and the radio station.

Throughout its run, Virgin 103.1’s Ace Burpee Show has consistently been in the top five of the city’s most listened-to morning shows and is currently the longest-running morning show team in Winnipeg.

The team, especially Burpee, has been recognized numerous times for their efforts.

In 2023, Burpee was awarded the Order of Manitoba for his philanthropic and community efforts.

Yet he spends his spare time making sure others are recognized for their own good works.

He annually publishes a list called the Top 100 Most Fascinating Manitobans, which recognizes Manitobans who have made a positive impact in the past year.

(Full disclosure: That list was published in the newspaper Metro Winnipeg when the author of this article was the editor, and for a few years, Burpee also wrote a column for the newspaper called “What’s Good.”)

When asked how other radio stations or hosts could replicate the team’s success, the team said there’s no long-term strategy or game plan.

“Be yourself,” said Lloyd. “It’s gotta be you doing it, right? That’s the way it works. If you can give back, and if you want to give back, it’s a good way to go.”

“Whether the event or problem solves something for three people or 3,000, there’s no difference to any of us,” said Burpee. 

“And if no one is asking you to do anything, then reverse it. Be like, ‘Can I help with anything?’ because that is how you meet people who are doing real work. 

“What we do is a bit of a joke compared to what people are actually doing in the trenches. Those are the real ones.”

Tell us this made you smarter | Contact us | Report error