This December marked the 40th consecutive year that WESH 2 News partnered with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida to rally the Central Florida community in support of neighbors facing hunger during its Share Your Christmas campaign.
As in years past, Share Your Christmas kicked off with a Giving Tuesday telethon, where WESH 2 dedicated the day to Second Harvest and called on the community to help feed local children, families, and seniors.
Thanks to the incredible matching gifts from Mullinax Ford, Wells Fargo, Delta Air Lines, Orlando Health, and Lockheed Martin; the generous support from VyStar Credit Union; and the heartfelt contributions of so many community members who called during the telethon or donated online, an inspiring $487,177 was raised in a single day – WOW!
However, the outpouring of kindness didn’t end there—our community’s generosity continued to shine brightly.
The following weekend, the Lake Eola 5K benefited Second Harvest through WESH 2’s Share Your Christmas campaign. Runners could donate during registration or bring food to the race expo.
The next week, WESH 2 celebrated its milestone with a special anniversary broadcast and telethon. Veteran reporters and anchors helped answer phones in between retrospective stories.
Longtime Share Your Christmas partners AdventHealth, Wells Fargo, and Disney challenged the community with a $200,000 matching gift—doubling donations and amplifying the holiday spirit across Central Florida.
To wrap up the campaign, on Friday, December 12, viewers were encouraged to drop off nonperishable food or funds at six locations, including WESH 2 Studios, Daytona International Speedway, Brevard Zoo, Celebration Town Center, DeLuca YMCA Family Center and Lake County Sheriff’s Office South Lake District Office.
Hundreds of generous community members joined in, sharing their Christmas spirit, including Disney’s Chip and Dale, Santa Claus, school groups, fraternities and sororities, local businesses, and government officials.
The Central Florida community donated an additional $400,000 and over 82,000 pounds of food! Overall, community support will provide more than 3.6 million meals to help children, families, and seniors in Central Florida this holiday season. Thank YOU for making this happen.
Please join us in thanking the team at WESH 2 for their tireless efforts to educate our community on the issue of hunger here in Central Florida. You can watch the incredible stories of the impact they shared during the campaign online.
Finally, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who volunteered, tuned in, reached out, visited donation sites, and gave so selflessly to support our neighbors. It truly takes a loving community to lift one another up, and we are endlessly grateful and proud to be part of Central Florida—the home of the kindest, most generous people we know.
Thank you for sharing your Christmas!
