Mitch Albom/SAY Detroit Radiothon raises $1.866 million for Detroiters in need

The Mitch Albom/SAY Detroit Radiothon raised a record $1,866,266 for Detroiters in need during a marathon Thursday at The Somerset Collection in Troy.

This was the 11th edition of the radiothon, which has raised over $10 million for SAY Detroit, a nonprofit organization that supports programs such as SAY Detroit Family Health Clinic, the SAY Detroit Play Center, Working Homes/Working Families, the Dream Scholars and A Time to Help.

"This was a stunningly successful radiothon we had even before Tom Gores' donation at the end," Albom said after the 15-hour event. "It's been an incredible outpouring of generosity in a year when people are very, very challenged. You would never know that the economy is so rough and times are so tough in America by the giving that our audience did today. ... It just speaks to the fact that even in troubled times, Detroiters put other people first, and Michiganders put other people first, even beyond their own difficulties. And I'm so proud to be a part of this community and this event every year."

Gores, the owner of the Detroit Pistons, donated $350,000 at the end of the show.

Albom said 100% of the money raised will go to the neediest people in Detroit.

The program, hosted by Albom and radio partner Ken Brown, ran from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on WJR-AM (760) and was livestreamed online.

This year's highlights included Albom shaving his goatee when donations for the trip to the barber's chair surpassed the $30,000 mark. Also, actors and Michigan natives Tim Allen and J.K. Simmons made dueling $20,000 donations, while Simmons proclaimed his depiction of Santa Claus in the upcoming movie "Red One" is better than Allen's version in "The Santa Clause," which is being rebooted on Disney Plus.

Last year, the radiothon raised a then-record $1.65 million.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mitch Albom/SAY Detroit Radiothon raises $1.866 million for charity