The Radio GIFT Project - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

The Radio GIFT Project

You cannot buy happiness.

But can you buy happiness for someone else?

That's the idea behind the newest Christmas tradition at WGO, the Zoo and Sunny radio.

The Radio Give-It-Forward-Today Project, or the Radio GIFT Project is reaching out to the community this holiday season.

And as Jennifer Thorgramson tells us, the more you give, the more you get back.

There is a satisfaction in giving.

At WGO, the Zoo and Sunny radio stations, it's not just a message, it's a business model.

While the radio coworkers were 'Helping to Rebuild Minot,' one piece of sheetrock at a time, 10 of 15 employees were trying to rebuild their own lives after the 2011 Mouse River flood.

(Jean Schempp, WGO/Zoo/Sunny Radio Stations) "This family that had been flooded and lost their home, realized that even in this great loss, how much they had."

Kim Burckhard and her family tried something new last Christmas: they sent their five children into the community with cash in hand to 'pay it forward' to a worthy cause.

(Kim Burckhard, WGO/Zoo/Sunny Radio Reception) "Sometimes it's easy just to go do something or hand money to somebody but giving of yourself is much harder."

(Jean Schempp, WGO/Zoo/Sunny Radio Stations) "I thought it was such a wonderful story and it just dawned on me: We should do this with our radio station."

With chats around the water cooler, the idea grew into the Radio GIFT Project.

In addition to the annual bonus, each employee was given $200 to spend in the community.

(Jean Schempp, WGO/Zoo/Sunny Radio Stations) "We can share our stories and tell everybody else what our employees are doing with the money, and hopefully there are other employers out there who will want to do the same thing."

"This is really exciting. And where did you say you were from again?" "WGO"

Shelly's $200 grew to three hundred with help from the Pretzel Maker.

And her car load of groceries will grow to Christmas dinners for those at the Domestic Violence Crisis Center with greater things on their minds than grocery shopping.

(Shelly Kincaid, WGO Radio Personality) "This is something that to me, is all year around. The cause, the effect, everything that is involved. So this is really the first thing I think of all the time."

(Kim Burckhard, WGO/Zoo/Sunny Radio Reception) "It's great to help somebody else out."

Kim opened her heart to a young heart

Lindsey is 14 years old.

With medical expenses weighing on her parents' minds, Kim's gift is simple.

(Kim Burckhard, WGO/Zoo/Sunny Radio Reception) "My gift to her is to go shopping for her family and not feel guilty about spending it on her family and enjoy Christmas."

(Kim Burckhard, WGO/Zoo/Sunny Radio Reception) "The true spirit of Christmas coming back. I like that."

(Shelly Kincaid, WGO Radio Personality) "Any little bit helps. And the meaning behind it is so much more."

(Kim Burckhard, WGO/Zoo/Sunny Radio Reception) "It is one of those things where it really does feel better to give to someone else."

When you run a business with the community in mind, Jean says it becomes second nature.

(Jean Schempp, WGO/Zoo/Sunny Radio Stations) "If an idea flies by you, you naturally reach out and grab it if it's a good one."

"This all part of the Million Minute Pledge to community service from Sunny 101.9."

In Minot, Jennifer Thorgramson, KX News.