Radio and television broadcasters are dedicated to supporting their communities 365 days a year. But recognizing the need is great especially during the holidays, stations from around the Green Mountain State step up and support dozens of charities and non-profits. Here are just a few examples of how broadcasters are making a difference this holiday season (in no particular order).

WEQX Jamaica Cottage Food Pantry in Manchester

A few years ago, WEQX-FM in Manchester teamed up with Jamaica Cottage Shops to have a permanent food pantry intalled in their Elm Street parking lot.  The community cares for it and keeps it well-stocked for those who need to swing in and help themselves to whatever they need.  Watch a quick video WEQX did before Thanksgiving

Stuff A Bus Food Drive in Rutland

For 29 years, Catamount Radio has been doing Stuff -A-Bus prior to Thanksgiving.  For 3-days, WDVT-FM (Rock 94.5), WJEN-FM (Cat Country), WJJR-FM (98.1 JJR) WZRT-FM (Z97) and WSYB AM & FM broadcast at several grocery store locations taking food and money donations to “stuff” the buses at those locations. This year, they raised over 10,000 pounds of food and approximately $15,000 in cash donations for the Salvation Army and local food pantries to help local residence for the holidays.

Pack The Pantry Food Drive in Central Vermont

November 21st – 23rd, WEZF-FM (Star 92.9), set up in the parking lot at Market 32 in Berlin until they hit the goal; to fill a 53-foot Bellavance Tractor Trailer with Non-perishable food items! Listeners including kids, seniors, schools and businesses all took time to collect food and donate to Pack The Pantry and filled the truck from end to end with non-perishable food items for the Central Vermont Salvation Army Food Shelf. Between food and its cash equivalent, 12.5 tons of food was collected!

NEK Holiday Food Drive

WGMT-FM (Magic 97.7) and WKXH-FM (Kix 105.5) in the Northeast Kingdom held their 35th annual food drive on Saturday, December 14th in St Johnsbury and raised 15,000 lb of food in just a couple of hours. The area food shelves really depend on the food from the food drive and the stations are happy to help them and the families they serve, especially at this time of year.

Fox44/ABC 22 Feed-A-Family Food Drive

WFFF-TV (FOX 44) and WVNY-TV (ABC22) organized three Feed-A-Family food drives to raise non-perishables to stock pantries for the holidays. December 19th at City Market in Burlington they collected 1,601 pounds of food and $1,041 in cash donations for the Vermont Food Bank. There were also $4,000 in online donations made to the Vermont Food Bank on the day of their drive. December 12th at Price Chopper in West Lebanon, NH, they collected 1,200 pounds of food and $555 cash for the LISTEN Food Pantry. And on December 5th at Market 32 in Plattsburgh, NY, they collected 1,511 pounds of food and $639 in cash for JCEO.

Frank/Froggy/Penguin Stuff-A-Truck

October 31st and November 1st, Great Eastern Radio stations WWFY-FM (Froggy), WRFK-FM (Frank) and WSNO-FM (The Penguin) collected 4,246 lbs of food in a truck and delivered it to the Vermont Food Bank! The food was collected from Stuff-A-Truck donation bins at 11 Shaws Supermarkets around Central and Northern Vermont during the month of October.

Project Feed The Thousands in Brattleboro

30 years ago, WTSA co-started Project Feed the Thousands, a community initiative dedicated to alleviating food insecurity. Over the years, as the need has grown, so has the size and scope of Project Feed The Thousands. Today, with the help of WTSA and other community partners, Project Feed the Thousands collects multiple tractor trailers’ worth of food and personal care items for thousands of people in and around six communities across southeastern VT and southwestern, NH.

Christmas Is For Kids

It’s KOOL to Send a Kid to Camp Ta-Kum-Ta!

Camp Ta-Kum-Ta is a camp for children from Vermont and New York who have, or have had cancer where they get to go for a week in the summer and just be kids!  There is never a charge to the family, instead all camp expenses (about $2,500 per child) are covered by donations from the public. For over 15 years, 105.1 WKOL (KOOL 105) has aired “Its KOOL to Send a Kid to Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, a 5-day radiothon that this year, broke a record and raised over $233,000, enough to send every kid to camp!

WSYB Christmas Fund

The WSYB Christmas Fund began in 1972 when the station received a letter to Santa from a Rutland County youngster.  He was asking not for a toy or a present, but for a blanket and boots for his little brother who kept getting sick because their bedroom window was broken and it got very cold at night. He was hoping Santa could help.   

The response we got when we used our microphones to tell this young man’s story was the start of the Christmas fund.  We got new blankets and boots for that little boy and his brother, and every year since, for 52 years, we have been able to use the power of radio to raise funds for this wonderful community event. 

WPTZ-TV Toys For Kids Drive

NBC5 is once again sponsoring this year’s Toys for Kids drive alongside the Marine Corps League in Vermont and the JCEO in Northern New York. Our team is working to help collect new, unwrapped toys and gift cards for local children to help families have a happy holiday. All of the toys collected will remain in our region to help local families. NBC5 had two televised toy drive days; one at the University Mall in South Burlington December 5th and another at the Champlain Centre Mall in Plattsburgh December 12th. Red barrels were distributed throughout the region and toys were collected through mid-December to be distributed to families before Christmas. This is a very important initiative for the NBC5 crew and one they look forward to doing each year!

COTS Phone-a-Thon

From November 28th – December 5th, 98.9 WOKO-FM aired promos asking listeners to “answer the call to end homelessness” during the COTS Phone-a-Thon Deember 2nd-5th. COTS, which stands for Committee on Temporary Shelter, provides emergency shelter, services and long-term housing for people who are experiencing homelessness or are marginally housed. With WOKO’s help, this year’s phone-a-thon raised $216,000!

Toy Drive For Veterans’ Kids in Barre

At the request of the US Veterans Motorcycle Club, Aaron Lewis (Gonthier), also the GM of WCVR-AM in Randolph but in this case representing sister station WFRD-FM (99 Rock) traveled to South Barre, VT for a toy drive to benefit needy children of Veterans.  It was held at Wilkins Harley-Davidson and in four hours enough toys were collected to fill up a trailer!

Fenton Family Community Food Drive

Saturday, November 23rd, all 8 stations of the Monadnock Media Group, including WKVT/Rewind 92.7 & 102.3 FM in Brattleboro held their annual “Fenton Family Community Food Drive”. From 9am until 2pm, they collected an estimated 4,000 pounds of food donations outside Market Basket in Swanzey, NH as well as Hannaford & the Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene, NH. They also collected $12,000 in monetary donations, and the Fenton Family Dealerships added an additional $5,000 donation for a grand total of $17,000! All proceeds went to the Community Kitchen in Keene, NH. The picture features Rewind air personality Natalie Knowles with her daughter Amelia and Community Kitchen Volunteers live in front of the Monadnock Food Co-op.

WCAX Coat Drive

For the coldest of the winter months, WCAX is starting 2025 by once again supporting the community with the Great Vermont Coat Drive. In 2024, more than 1,000 coats were donated across the state to help keep vulnerable Vermonters warm, and we expect to increase that outpouring of community care in 2025. January 14th-February 9th, people will be able to donate coats at Vermont Federal Credit Union locations, which will benefit the Vermont Department for Children and Families who distribute the coats to families in need.