REAL HUMANS. REALLY SINGING.

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What is Dial-A-Carol?

The short answer: a wonderful group of mostly student volunteers dedicating some of their finals week study time to sing holiday songs to anyone around the world who calls, for 24 hours a day, one week year, all in the name of spreading joy and kindness.

Dial-A-Carol is the longest running tradition in University Housing (hosted by Snyder Hall since 1960). For one week only, anyone from around the world can call our phone lines, 24/7, and request any holiday song, then we'll do our best to sing our hearts out. The best part? It's completely FREE!

Join Dial-A-Carol on Facebook to get a glimpse of behind the scenes. We'll also be doing Request-a-Song on Facebook Live at some point during the week. Stay tuned for details!

Real life human people will sing to me?

Yes!!! Students, faculty, staff, and members of the community are all welcome to take part. They have a book of traditional holiday music, but will also search the internet to find the words and tune to even the most obscure song. Check out this video from last year to get an inside look.

Interested in singing?

Are you a student who wants to volunteer?

Download the FAQ document.

Can anyone call?

Of course! Last year the program logged more than 8,000 calls. All 50 states were covered within the first 24 hours of the event, and calls were received from all over the world. We get calls from children and adults of all ages from all corners of the globe.

What time can we call?

Phone lines open at 12:01 a.m. on December 12 and volunteers tend the lines 24/7 through 11:59 p.m. on December 18. There are multiple lines available, so please be patient if you can't get through right away or you are put on hold. We do our best to keep wait times short and spirits jolly.

Help us go viral!

We want to let lots of people know about Dial-A-Carol. If you have a great experience, please share it with your friends, family, and co-workers. Spread a little Dial-A-Carol cheer wherever you go!

Learn more about the history of this tradition:

Media inquiries:

Send to dialacarolinfo@housing.illinois.edu



