Mike Neelly

WDSU hosted a telethon just days after a series of tornadoes struck the New Orleans area. Enough money was raised to give a $599 gift card to every affected household.

WDSU’s Student Connection School Supply Drive is a two-week initiative inviting the community to contribute donations through United Way of Southeast Louisiana (UWSELA) to purchase school supplies that will be distributed directly to the school systems.

TV stations make meaningful contributions and connections in a variety of beneficial ways with their communities. Here’s a round-up of how some stations are helping and serving their communities.

“Our mission is to inform and protect the Jackson community,” said Mike Neelly, WAPT’s general manager. “Expanding our newscasts is just one more way we’re able to do this. This community service will help us in our commitment to delivering facts over fear on all our platforms.”

WAPT, Hearst’s ABC affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi continued its annual Turkey Drive tradition with record numbers this year. “Mississippi has long been known as one of the most generous states in the nation,” said Mike Neelly, WAPT’s general manager. “When our neighbors need help, we step up to the challenge, and that’s exactly what we saw with this year’s Turkey Drive.”