Jerry Fisher: Children in Need See Holiday Wishes Come True

Over the holiday season, I have had the opportunity to experience the gift of giving at many levels.

The radio station I work at, WBLF, joined with its sister stations to collect toys for more than 450 needy children in the Centre County area. These children were identified by the Centre County Youth Service Bureau staff that works closely with the children.

We asked individuals to call the station and sponsor a child. We gave the listeners the child’s choice of what they hoped to get from their sponsor, and then it was up to those listeners to go out and buy the gift or something close to it.

The amazing thing was that almost every one of the sponsors went above and beyond their duties. For instance, we had an air hockey table delivered directly to the station offices because one child was hoping for some sort of game of that type. We had at least eight bicycles brought to the offices, bags of goodies including hair care products for girls, tools for some boys, matchbox cars, makeup and everything else you could imagine a child would ask for.

I attended a Penn State Letterman function the Friday before Christmas in which the former Penn State football players were getting together to talk about the Nittany Lions. Chris Conlin and Tim Sweeney, two former players under Joe Paterno, took a collection and raised $300.

They called me because they had heard about our Christmas Crusade for Kids and said they wanted to donate that money to our cause, which helped fill the void of some child’s wishes that we could not fulfill. We gladly accepted the gift, which was once again an example of going beyond the call of duty.

We had great sponsors that made the campaign a huge success. The Mental Health, Mental Retardation office of Centre County Government was a huge contributor. The Centre County Commissioner’s office jumped in full force for the second year in a row and many more made this a fantastic event.

None of it would have been possible without the incredible hard work of the people at YSB, including Sue Dann, who organized all the toys for wrapping, thanking and doing all of that paperwork that needed to be done. Nor would it have been possible without all the program coordinators at YSB for getting the names in the first place, then seeing that all the toys are wrapped and were delivered to each child before Christmas arrived. The boss at YSB, Andrea Boyles, who I had on my talk show several times during the campaign, showed me the value of their programs and what they do for children of all ages in the county.

I had personal experience with this program, but you must also consider all of the campaigns that go on in our wonderful area from Toys for Tots, drives for the local food banks and the incredible work our churches do for many people not as fortunate as ourselves.

So much has been made about the negative things surrounding Penn State and our community. But I am here to tell you that Centre County, the Penn State community and everyone that lives and loves this area are to be commended for an incredible effort to make sure that this holiday was as good as it could be for hundreds and hundreds of individuals and families.

I really could go on and on about this tremendous area we live and call Happy Valley, this area that time after time rises up to the call when people are in need, but I think you know where I am coming from.

Centre County is indeed a great place to live and raise your children, maybe even retire as many have done. Well done friends and neighbors, you have a lot to be very proud of.