WSYB Christmas Fund

Back then, the radio station ran a program at Christmas called “Letters To Santa.” Kids were encouraged to write in and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. That year, the radio station received a letter from a youngster who was 7 or 8 years old. 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 wa

s broken and it got very cold at night. The response we got when we read the letter on the air was overwhelming and was the start of the Christmas Fund. The phones lit up and we started collecting donations. The Christmas Fund was incorporated as a non-profit the next year in January of 1973. We are a 501(c) organization, registered with the State of Vermont. We collect money each Christmas which is used to buy gift cards at area department stores and they are either mailed out or hand delivered. They go only to residents of Rutland County. The list of recipients is generated by area non-profits, schools and churches. Not one penny has ever been taken out for administrative expenses. It is a totally voluntary effort. A dollar in is a dollar out.