Bill Ayres is a

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

host and executive director and co-founder of

World Hunger Year WhyHunger (formerly known as World Hunger Year, or WHY) is a non-profit registered 501(c)(3) organization working to end hunger and poverty by connecting people to nutritious, affordable food and by supporting grassroots solutions that inspire ...

Biography

Ayres became a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest for the Roman Catholic diocese of Rockville Centre. Long Island, New York in 1966, but always had a fondness for radio broadcasting, starting at WGSM on Long Island He began hosting and producing a weekly radio talk show on New York radio station WPLJ 95.5 FM in 1973. At first called On This Rock, it featured interviews with rock musicians, that focused on the spiritual meaning of the music to them, rather than its commercial aspects. Known on-air as Father Bill Ayres, and then titled The Bill Ayres Show, he has taken thousands of calls and offered advice about personal, relational, spiritual, and social values,Konig, Susan.
"Q&A: Bill Ayres; In Forefront of Fighting World Hunger"
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The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. March 29, 1998 as well as playing music by artists whose outlook he thought was similar to his. He served for ten years at St. James Church in

Seaford, New York Seaford is a township in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 15,294 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of wh ...

, until 1979. He resigned from the active priesthood in the early 1980s and focused on charitable work full-time. His motivation to leave the priesthood was to be able to marry his now wife Jeannine. They raised two daughters while residing in

Huntington Station, New York Huntington Station is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York. The population was 33,029 at the 2010 census. History The hamlet was named for its railroad station, ...

. In 1975, Ayres and his close friend folksinger and songwriter

Harry Chapin Harold Forster Chapin (; December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. He achieved worldwide success in the 1970s. Chapin, a Grammy A ...

saw a pressing need to aid the impoverished with basic needs such as food. They began World Hunger Year (WHY, later known as WhyHunger), an organization with a stated mission to defeat hunger through charity, using grassroots efforts and rallying celebrities and leaders to help promote the cause.Bux, Michael.
"Fighting World Hunger From Mineola"
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''. May 7, 1978 Ayres has served as executive director since 1983. Ayres and Chapin believed that solutions to hunger and poverty are found through long-term solutions, like supporting community-based organizations that empower individuals and build self-reliance. Ayres has spun off another national hunger coalition, The Medford Group of national hunger organizations. He was a founding member of the National Jobs for All Coalition, a full-employment group, suggested their series, Uncommon Sense, and is on their advisory board. He is also a board member of Long Island Cares, Long Island's food bank. He and his wife founded the life counseling group At the Water's Edge on Long Island. He is the co-author of the book ''All You Need is Love: And 99 Other Life Lessons From Classic Rock Songs'' with radio colleague

Pete Fornatale Peter Salvatore Fornatale (August 23, 1945 – April 26, 2012) was a New York City disc jockey and author of numerous books on rock and roll. He is considered a "pioneer of FM rock", who played an important role in the progressive rock era of FM ...

. His next book, ''The Journey Into the Mystery: Finding God in Your Everyday Life'', was released on Amazon marketplace in 2021. On June 23, 2015, Ayres was presented with the "WhyHunger Lifetime Achievement Award" by WhyHunger.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayres, Bill American talk radio hosts Living people People from Huntington Station, New York Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century births 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Roman Catholics Catholics from New York (state)