106.9 The Light Listeners Pledge to Help 170 Struggling Families During Christmas Season

“Families Helping Families” Connects Those Who Can Give to Those in Need

ASHEVILLE, N.C., Dec. 8, 2011 – Listeners of Christian radio station 106.9 The Light have pledged support for 170 families in the station’s listening area, including Western North Carolina and parts of South Carolina and Tennessee. Listeners “adopted” families in need – all of whom were struggling financially – by offering to provide clothing, gifts, food and other items during the Christmas season.

“Our station team, watched in awe as listeners called in to help out families they didn’t know, so that this Christmas, the love of Jesus was something they did know,” said Jim Kirkland, executive director of 106.9 The Light. “Our goal with the project was not to raise funds, but to raise up families to help other families. Phones rang off the hook as people jumped at the opportunity to provide for others’ needs.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, while U.S. unemployment rates recently dropped to 8.6 percent, North Carolina has one of the country’s highest unemployment rates – 10.4 percent of residents. 106.9 The Light worked through 14 crisis assistance ministries, who identified families in need in area communities. The station set aside 9 hours of air time (6-9 a.m. and 12-6 p.m.) on Dec. 6 to promote the need and have each family adopted.

Here are just a few of the stories of families in the area who are being assisted through “Families Helping Families”:

• A local mother and father were both laid off from their jobs this year. Soon after, they received news that they were expecting their eighth child. Their family once lived the American dream – a big house, nice cars, everything that they wanted and needed. Now they have given up much of that dream including the house, two cars, and phones, and still are unable to pay many of their bills and provide for their children. The mother is working a minimum wage job and dad is trying to find work whenever he can.
  

• Brothers, one three-year old and the other 17 months old, are living with their great grandparents. The elderly couple, themselves with health issues, took in the boys after their parents were unable to care for them. The boys’ grandmother tried to take care of the children but was diagnosed with cancer.
  

The ministries working with the families are in 13 communities, including: Asheville, Black Mountain, Cherryville, Forest City, Hickory, Mooresville, Morganton, Newton, Shelby, Spindale, and Taylorsville N.C.; Travelers Rest, S.C.; and Johnson City, Tenn.

This year’s effort was the second “Families Helping Families” project put on by the station.

 About 106.9 the Light

Founded by Billy and Ruth Graham in 1962, 106.9 The Light’s mission is to lead as many people as possible into a personal and dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. The station broadcasts from its studios in Asheville, N.C., to portions of seven states and around the world on the Internet at www.1069thelight.org. 106.9 The Light seeks to serve its listeners with the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, through encouraging music and relevant Bible teaching, as well as support of worthwhile efforts in the surrounding area and abroad. 106.9 The Light has the 12^th largest FM coverage area in the nation, reaching Charlotte, N.C., Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., Johnson City-Bristol, Tenn., and Asheville, N.C.