JINGLE BELLS TELETHON- The History, The Tradition

For 57 years the Alexandria Jaycees have been involved in an effort to make the holidays better for families across Central Minnesota. Back in 1949 a gentleman named Ken Bechtel brought the idea to Alexandria. He told his fellow owners of KXRA radio that this “telethon” could really help out people in need during a tough time of the year. The president of the Alexandria Jaycees at the time, Julian Newhouse, made the commitment for his organization to help the radio station run it and as they say, the rest is history.

Since that first year of raising close to $500, to last years’ total of more than $103,000, close to $2,100,000 worth of food and toy donations have been donated. That translates to 10's of thousands of people being helped over the years.

This is very much a community effort. In addition to generous donations from businesses and their employees, countless other groups and organizations contribute and help to make the telethon and food deliveries happen.

It is a very simple concept. Invite people to donate money, ask others to entertain those wonderful people and lastly, use that money to buy food and gifts for families in need during the holidays. Although the whole idea is simple…actually going from point A to point Z involves a lot of planning and a lot of effort.

The Alexandria Jaycees are the backbone behind all of the planning. Over the years, they have gone from a telethon on radio that served Douglas County to a live telethon on television that encompasses communities from Bemidji to Redwood Falls.

The Broadcast- In the first ten years of the Jingle Bells Telethon, the radio waves provided entertainment and encouragement to thousands. KXRA radio was very generous with their time and resources, and the Alexandria Jaycees were as well. Erc Aga, of KXRA Radio, was a strong voice for helping this cause get started. The telethon moved to television in 1958 with the creation of a local television station (KCMT). Personalities like Jerry Van Kempen made the program a joy to watch. In order to accommodate the live audiences that longed for the entertainment, the Jaycees and KCMT/KXRA held the telethon in the State and Andria theatres. The telethon eventually made its way back into the KCMT studio. Dozens of hosts led the charge and hundreds upon hundreds of talented people came into your living rooms for one night a year. KCMT became WCCO in the late 80's and the show continued. WCCO's Don Shelby co-hosted the show for many years, and along with Van Kempen, was one of the advocates for getting the program back into a more live, "audience-friendly" environment.

For the 50^th anniversary of the Jingle Bells Telethon, it was brought back into a setting where not only the people at home could watch, but also those who wanted to see it “live” and in person at the AAAA Theater. Since that telethon, the audiences have packed into the theater to watch the live production, and people at home have tuned in and made their pledges over the phone.

The baton has been handed off again. Upon the closing of KCCO Television's news department in late 2002, Ed Smith of KSAX television insisted that the show must go on and vowed to continue with its local flair. Since then, KSAX-Television has been the home of the annual telethon. The show moved from its traditional Friday night date, to Saturday night, AND was given a huge boost when KSTP agreed to run the show live in primetime from 6:30 to midnight.

The Food & Toy Baskets- In the beginning, donations were gathered and food packages were delivered on the night of the telethon. Because of the huge volume of donations and the overwhelming need in the community, that has become impossible. Now it takes weeks to collect the money and two full days to coordinate and deliver the food and toy baskets. In addition to more than 30 Jaycee members (and their families) hundreds of people donate their time and talents. The Jaycees formed the Jingle Bells Foundation in 2006 to guarantee certain tax benefits to those donating. People benefit from the proceeds all year long. More than $30,000 is given to local food shelves each Spring. Thousands of dollars are given to families experiencing hardships throughout the calendar year.

It would take a book to describe all that has to happen to make the Jingle Bells program work; however, each year it is not only a success, it's a reminder that the spirit of giving is a very powerful unifying tool.