This issue features a sampling of broadcasters' extraordinary good works from the 2019 holiday season. Read more at BroadcastPublicService.org.

Radio Raises Over $31 Million

During the holiday season, radio stations across the U.S. raised $31.2 million for their local communities, according to Radio Ink. Broadcasters collected tons of food, distributed hundreds of thousands of toys and raised millions to fight cancer.

WMMR Collects 2.6 Million Pounds of Food

Beasley’s WMMR-FM Philadelphia collected a record 2.6 million pounds of food and $200,000 in the “Preston & Steve Camp Out for Hunger” event, held December 2-6. Personalities Preston and Steve lived in a South Philadelphia parking lot all week to collect donations for Philabundance, the area’s largest hunger relief organization.

Univision Radio Raises $4.7 Million for St. Jude

Univision radio stations in 15 markets raised $4.7 million during the “Promesa y Esperanza” event, held December 5 – 6 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Thousands of Univision listeners became "Angels of Hope" by donating during the event.

iHeart and Nexstar Raise $600,000 to Fight Opioid Crisis

KSBW Collects Several Tons of Food and Toys

KSBW-TV, Hearst’s dual NBC-ABC affiliate in Salinas, Calif., collected $168,820, plus 6,971 pounds of food and 4,855 new toys during its 33rd annual “Share Your Holiday” event, held December 6. KSBW held the event in partnership with the Salvation Army as part of its Project CommUNITY initiative.

WDTN Hosts 38th Annual Food Drive

Nexstar’s WDTN-TV Dayton, Ohio, held its annual “Food for Friends” campaign from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve. In 38 years, WDTN has collected over 13 million food items to help stock The Foodbank of Dayton and other local food pantries. The station ran spots encouraging viewers to donate and broadcast live from various donation locations during the 2019 campaign.

KHTT Raises $60,000 for Community Food Bank

Griffin Communications-owned KHTT-FM Tulsa Host Chubbs of “Chubbs and Tara in the Morning” climbed on the roof of the station's media center on December 3 and did not come down until $60,000 was raised for the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma’s "Food For Kids" program. The station accepted donations in the parking lot and met the $60,000 goal in 48 hours.

SummitMedia Omaha Breaks Records to Support Kids

SummitMedia’s KSRZ-FM and KKCD-FM Omaha broke records during two annual fundraisers. Listeners provided gifts and meals for 2,000 families during KSRZ’s 20th annual Adopt-A-Family radiothon, held in partnership with the Salvation Army. KKCD raised $96,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in a radiothon held December 7.

Hearst's WISN Raises $133,000 to Fight Hunger

Hearst Communication’s ABC affiliate WISN-TV Milwaukee and Hunger Task Force partnered for the eighth consecutive year on the “Food for Families Phone Bank,” held November 26 – 27. The event brought in $133,000, which provides more than 1,000 meals for families in need. Since 2014, over $825,000 has been raised for families in need across Milwaukee and the surrounding areas.

iHeart Boston Raises $531,000 for St. Jude

iHeartMedia’s WBWL-FM, WTBU-FM and WRNX-FM Boston raised over $530,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during the iHeart Country Cares for St. Jude Kids radiothon, held December 5 - 6. The broadcast also featured an in-studio performance by country music artist Morgan Evans.

WRAL Raises $600,000 for Local Children

Capitol Broadcasting’s WRAL-FM Raleigh raised over $604,000 during the 25th annual radiothon for Duke Children’s Hospital, held December 17 - 18. The annual radiothon is the largest fundraiser of the year for the hospital. WRAL-FM has raised over $18 million for Duke Children’s in 25 years.

WZPL Collects Nearly $840,000 for Make-A-Wish

Cumulus-owned WZPL-FM Indianapolis raised a record $839,000 during the station’s 23rd annual "Make-A-Wish Request-A-Thon," held December 5 - 6. The station played listeners’ song requests in exchange for a donation to Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 23 years, WZPL has helped raise more than $7.5 million for Make-A-Wish.

KLOL and KTMD's Radiothon Means $408,000 for Local Hospital

Entercom’s KLOL-FM and Telemundo’s KTMD-TV Houston raised $408,000 to benefit Texas Children’s Hospital during its ninth annual "Mega Radiothon," held December 5 – 6. The live broadcast was hosted at KLOL’s studio and televised by KTMD-TV. All funds raised benefit Texas Children’s Hospital.

KMSP-TV Special Spotlights Minnesota’s Farming Crisis

Fox-owned KMSP Minneapolis aired on November 28 a primetime, hour-long special investigative report, “FOX 9 Presents: The Last Harvest.” Reporter Tom Lyden spent 10 months investigating the crisis affecting Minnesota farmers, who faced the wettest year on record, historically low yields and the trade war with China, which affects commodity prices. Small local farmers have been struggling with debt under a system that encourages them to get bigger.

Townsquare’s WKXW Addresses Online Child Predators

Townsquare Media’s WKXW-FM Trenton, N.J., held a town hall on December 11 that addressed online child predators. Morning News Anchor Eric Scott moderated the panel, which featured live questions from listeners. Participants included New Jersey State Police Lt. John Pizzuro, commander of the NJSP’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force; Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni; and Dr. Steven Tobias, director of the Center for Child & Family Development in Morristown, N.J. WKXW also produced and aired special news segments from investigative reporter David Matthau prior to the town hall.

Rhode Island Broadcasters Air Mental Health Special

The Rhode Island Broadcasters Association, Governor Gina Raimondo and First Gentleman Andy Moffit launched a mental health awareness campaign, "It's Okay Not to Be Okay." Stations, including Nexstar’s CBS affiliate WPRI-TV, Standard Media’s ABC affiliate WTEV-TV and Sinclair’s NBC affiliate WJAR-TV Providence, aired stories from people across Rhode Island who found help for mental health or substance abuse issues through statewide programs.

On December 14 at 7:30 p.m., TV and radio stations across the state aired a commercial-free, half-hour special that provided information on mental health resources, including a 24/7 hotline. Viewers and listeners were also encouraged to visit BH Link, a behavioral health facility that provides immediate assistance to people in crisis.

NBC San Francisco Investigates Dangerous Train System

NBC-owned KNTV San Francisco produced a five-part investigative series, “Derailed,” that exposed how the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system has become one of the most dangerous in the country. The BART system, with 723 trains, 122 miles of track and 48 stations, sees more than 420,000 rides every day. Violent crime on BART has more than doubled in recent years. KNTV’s investigative unit spent months recording on BART trains, interviewing passengers, questioning top BART officials, and analyzing thousands of crime records as part of the probe.

Hearst Television Recognized for Journalism, Public Service

Congratulations to Hearst Television for being recognized by Broadcasting & Cable for its outstanding reporting and community service. Hearst stations produce impactful investigative reporting, local news election coverage and severe weather information. Read the full profile here.

KOBI Launches ‘In This Together’

California Oregon Broadcasting’s NBC affiliate KOBI-TV Medford, Ore., launched “In This Together,” a two-year onair and social media campaign to raise awareness of the suicide epidemic. Every year, over 800 Oregonians die by suicide. KOBI produces news stories, airs PSAs and regularly posts information on social media. Vice President and General Manager Bob Wise has made public appearances to discuss the signs of suicide and offer advice on how to help.

Lenawee’s WLEN-FM Thanks Veterans

Lenawee Broadcasting’s WLEN-FM Adrian, Mich., raised over $31,000 during its 14th annual “Thank A Vet” day on November 11th. Housing Help of Lenawee will distribute the funds throughout the year to help local veterans with rent, mortgage payments, utility bills, rental facilities to store possessions when they are displaced, transportation stipends and items such as boots needed to secure employment. In 14 years, WLEN has raised $280,000 to support local veterans.

WMAL-FM Raises $500,000 for Service Members

Cumulus’ WMAL-FM Washington, D.C., raised $523,000 for the Fisher House Foundation in a radiothon held December 5-6. The foundation provides temporary housing and support for families of injured service members at more than 85 locations across the country. Over the past 17 years, WMAL has raised over $7 million for the Fisher House Foundation.

WFSX-FM Sends 80,000 Christmas Cards to the Troops

Sun Broadcasting’s WFSX-FM Ft. Myers, Fla., delivered over 80,000 Christmas cards to American troops serving overseas this year. The station encouraged listeners to donate Christmas cards for the fourth annual “10,000 for the Troops” promotion. Station host Drew Steele broadcast live from Ramstein Air Base in Germany while delivering the cards on December 7.

Beasley Collects Nearly 1,000 Bikes

Beasley Media Group’s six Southwest Florida radio stations partnered with the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation of Lee County to host the second annual Beasley Bike Drive on December 10. WXKB-FM, WJPT-FM, WRKX-FM, WWCN-FM, WRXK-HD2 and WJBX-AM collected 947 bikes and $17,750.

WHUR Collects 1,200 Toys

Howard University’s WHUR-FM Washington, D.C., collected more than 1,200 toys during its 17th annual toy drive on December 14. Non-profits that distributed the toys included the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center, YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, Shepherd’s Cove Shelter, Bright Beginnings, Sisters4Sisters and the Prince George’s County Family Justice Center. WHUR added Women’s Wing as a recipient after thousands of dollars in toys were stolen from its truck.

Entercom's KLUC Toy Drive Raises $603,000 and Tons of Toys

Entercom’s KLUC-FM Las Vegas Host Chet Buchanan lived on a 30-foot high scaffolding platform from December 5-16 to collect toys for families in need. Donations collected during the 12-day event filled 41 semi-truck trailers with new toys and 9,540 bikes. KLUC also collected $603,000. The toys and money benefit HELP of Southern Nevada, a nonprofit organization that helped impact over 3,000 families this holiday season.

Faith Communication's KSOS Hosts Events for 50 Families

Faith Communication’s KSOS-FM Las Vegas partnered with Hope for Prisoners to produce Christmas events for 110 children and their incarcerated parents on December 12. KSOS set up 50 unique living spaces, each centered around a freshly-cut, decorated Christmas tree. In the weeks prior to the event, the station also collected toys, bikes and other gifts for parents to give to their children.

Sinclair Stations Collect Toys

Sinclair’s Seattle radio stations KPLZ-FM, KOMO-AM/FM and KVI-AM, along with ABC-affiliate KOMO TV and Univision-owned KUNS-TV, held their annual toy drive on December 13 to benefit the Salvation Army. Each station encouraged listeners to donate online and drop off toys and cash donations at three collection centers. The stations collected $125,000 and over 7,000 toys during the event.

WFTN-FM Hosts Successful 'Cash and Cans' Event

Northeast Communication’s WFTN-FM Concord, N.H., collected over 20,000 food items and $43,000 during the annual "Cash and Cans" event, held December 6 - 13. The drive benefits 10 local nonprofit organizations.