History of Harbour Lights
How to help support Food Banks?
In 1997, Information Morning wanted to come up with a campaign that would
help support food banks in the difficult time between Christmas and Easter.
Over the Christmas holidays, people are very generous. But after Christmas,
when the bills start coming in and heating costs start going up, fund
raising gets harder and harder and the people who use food banks need
help more than ever. That's how Harbour Lights was born.
We thought a huge tree on the waterfront would be fabulous. Money could be raised by selling the lights. We wanted a campaign that everyone could be part of. A light that cost $2 seemed like it might work. But we had a problem. CBC had no way to construct a tree and no land on which to build it. We called the Port of Saint John for help and we only had to ask once! The Port immediately began designing a 'tree.' And what a tree it is!
Listener Support made the Difference
Then, what should have been the hard part. We asked listeners to help
out and we knew they would, but we had no idea just how generous they
would be. That first year, a four-year-old came in to the studio with
13 pennies tied up in a brown paper bag. Teachers throughout the region
organized fund raisers in their classrooms. People from all over the region
did their part in all kinds of creative and fabulous ways. Businesses
challenged each other to match or surpass corporate donations and the
Saint John Foundation donated $10,000!
That first year the campaign raised $37,000 for food banks throughout our listening area. In 2001 the total was more than $100,000. Each year the Port has made the tree more beautiful. It's become a a symbol of the holiday spirit and the generosity of the people of southwestern New Brunswick.
How to Contribute
You can drop off your donation at CBC Saint John, Monday, Nov. 28 to Friday, Dec. 23, 2011, anytime between 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
