Bear Country Radio’s Annual Christmas Wish Program Celebrates 31st Year of Giving Back in the Tri-County Area
By Emily Wright
AVIS, PA – Bear Country Radio’s popular Christmas Wish program is celebrating its 31st year of spreading holiday cheer in Clinton, Lycoming, and Centre counties. The program, which began in 1993, aims to provide toys, food, clothing, and other essentials to families and individuals in need during the holiday season.
The Record reached out to Karyn Stratton, who owns Bear Country Radio (WQBR 99.9FM) along with her husband Dave, to get more information about the Christmas Wish Program. “The ‘Christmas Wish’ actually began as a radio contest to attract listeners when our station first went on the air. The granting of three listeners’ wishes that holiday evolved over the years to the point where we started focusing on people’s needs rather than wants, as many of the letters we received asked for basic things, like food and clothing, in addition to toys,” she said.
To identify and select local families in need, the program relies on a variety of resources. Individuals send letters explaining their situation and needs, and the Stratton’s have partnered with churches, school nurses, senior centers, friends, and acquaintances, to name a few, to get the names of individuals and families who are in need of assistance.
The Bear Country Christmas Wish program has provided a wide range of gifts and assistance to families since its inception. From basic items like toys, clothes, and food to specialized projects such as home repairs, the program aims to fulfill the unique needs of each recipient. One year, The Stratton’s even gifted a horse to a little girl through the program. “The amount of things we are able to give is always dependent upon the funds we manage to raise for the program, and that varies widely from year to year,” Karyn explained. A wide variety of wishes have been granted through the program; however, individuals who want to make a wish request for themselves or on behalf of someone else should be aware that the program cannot assist with medications, vehicles, or cash.
During the holiday season, the program assists an average of 25 to 30 families or individuals. There is no deadline to donate to the program, however, requests for assistance are to be submitted by the first week of December.
While there are no official eligibility requirements, the Strattons ask that those requesting a Christmas Wish through their program not be enrolled in any other Christmas assistance program. Karyn explained, “This way more families are helped, and we want to assist people who are genuinely in need,” she said.
The success of the Bear Country Christmas Wish program is a result of partnerships and collaborations with local businesses, organizations, and community members. The program’s founders, Karyn and Dave Stratton, along with a small, but dedicated group of individuals, work tirelessly to collect and distribute items to the designated “Wish” families. The Stratton’s make it a point to acknowledge and credit those who’ve lent a hand to the program on the air, in their monthly magazine, “Good News/Pawsitively Pets”, and also on their Facebook page.
“We welcome help from anyone who would like to get involved. We have worked with many individuals, businesses, and organizations over the years – too many to list, and I don’t want to leave anyone out – and we always appreciate their participation,” Karyn emphasized.
In recent years, the program has expanded its reach to engage the elderly community further. Recognizing the impact of isolation on senior citizens during the pandemic, the program started to include more seniors. “We received the names of 25 individuals from a local nursing home that had not been able to have any visitors and we filled boxes full of things we thought they’d enjoy. It started with a few items – pajamas, tea/coffee, puzzles, books – and we wound up needing bigger boxes, as the community got involved and began dropping off donations! There were hand-knitted blankets, socks, homemade cookies, adult coloring books, toiletries, paper products, and children from local schools even made personalized cards,” Karyn shared.
The elderly recipients were overjoyed to have received these special gifts during a time of isolation, and when the Stratton’s got word of how impactful the gifts were to them, they decided to include it as part of the annual Christmas Wish program, titling the new initiative, “Bringing Seniors Smiles”. Their latest mission is to bring more music to seniors to uplift their spirits even more. Karyn spoke about future plans for the “Bringing Seniors Smiles” program, “We have hundreds of old Big Band and Classic Country CDs and cassettes. This year, we are going to purchase CD/Cassette players and drop them off, along with a collection of music, to seniors in nursing homes or those living alone. It’s always a mood booster to listen to the music you grew up with!”
Karyn noted that The Bear Country Christmas Wish program is a 501(c)(3) charity and all donations are tax-deductible. Those who donate will be provided with a receipt upon request.
Anyone wanting to contribute to the Bear Country Christmas Wish program can make monetary donations or donate items. Donations can be dropped off at the Bear Country Radio station, located in Avis at 103 West Highland Street.
In terms of what kinds of items to donate, Karyn explained that for children she encourages donations such as new toys, diapers, baby clothes, children’s coats, hats, and mittens. For elderly recipients, the program collects items like tea, coffee, snacks, blankets, socks, pajamas, puzzles, books, magazines, CDs, cassettes, and toiletries. “People can also “adopt” a family, and buy items specifically for them,” Karyn added.
Christmas Wish recipients are notified of their gifts the week before Christmas, and an appointment is scheduled to pick them up at the radio station during that week. Karyn and Dave have gathered a group of generous volunteers who deliver Christmas Wishes to elderly recipients at their homes or assisted living facilities.
When The Record asked about any heartwarming or impactful stories of families or individuals who have received a gift through the program in prior years, Karyn spoke about families who’ve had to choose between paying their bills or buying their children Christmas toys, making for a stressful holiday season. “It’s a really good feeling to be able to help. And we’ve been pleasantly surprised a few times when people we’ve assisted show up at the radio station’s door with a bag of gifts for another struggling family to ‘pay it forward’. The most memorable ones, though, were a little more involved than a box of toys,” she said. “We once had the help of a very generous contractor who installed a handicapped-accessible bathroom for a widow living with Multiple Sclerosis. We worked with the Jaycees years ago to restore a woman’s porch that got destroyed in a flood. One year, we were able to get airline tickets for a member of the military who couldn’t afford to visit his family for the holidays.
We’ve provided beds for families that were sleeping on the floor,” she added.
“Our most bittersweet wish was getting a horse for a little girl whose mom promised her one but died when she was just 6 years old. Her aunt told us she believed it was a gift from her mom in heaven. There are so many heartwarming stories, mostly involving families dealing with an illness or other crisis, that are just too personal to talk about. What always surprises us is the way some things come together in ways we never anticipated that enable us to do something really meaningful,” Karyn shared.
To make a donation, request assistance, or find more information about The Bear Country Christmas Wish, individuals can contact Karyn Stratton directly at 570-769-2327 or karstratton37@gmail.com. Letters can also be sent via mail to WQBR, P.O. Box 99, Avis, PA 17721.
Additional information about the Christmas Wish program can be found on the Bear Country Radio website at www.bear999.com, and also on their Facebook page by visiting https://www.facebook.com/BearCountry999/ or searching for “Bear Country 99.9 FM – WQBR” on Facebook.
