Holiday Wishes 2024

This year, United Way of Greater New Bedford and Fun 107 are once again teaming up to fulfill Holiday Wishes for families and individuals on the SouthCoast. Tune in from starting at 6:35 am all week (Dec. 9-13) to hear how you can help these families. Holiday Wishes allows us to help several SouthCoast families in need, in hopes of making the holidays a little brighter. You can help this year's families by texting WISHES24 to 26989 or click here.

Meet this year's families:

Monday 12/9

The Stark family has been met with a number of medical problems over the years. Liam, 11, has a rare autoimmune disorder that requires him to have treatments every 3 weeks to keep his body fully functioning. His younger brother Dominic, 3, was also just diagnosed with the same disorder. With 2 of their 3 children essentially have no immune system, it makes everyday life very difficult. Medical bills are continuing to pile up and the parents are doing all they can to keep the kids healthy and live a full life. Learn More

Tuesday 12/10

Sarah and her 2 children became homeless in October after fleeing a domestic violence situation. Due to the DV, she lost her job and has had trouble securing a new one with all the uncertainty around her. After living in their car for a short period, they are now staying with friends in Onset. Her oldest daughter goes to Fall River schools and Liz drives her to school daily in order to try to keep her life as normal as possible. Her car is the only thing left that is theirs. The payments are nearly $500 per month and she does what she can to get the payments together. They have applied for housing and are hopeful they will be placed somewhere by the new year. Learn More

Wednesday 12/11

Ivaltino, 14, is living with end stage renal disease and needs dialysis three times per week. The family is going through a lot emotionally, mentally, and financially as they navigate the challenges that come with his condition. Dad works construction on Cape Cod and relies on his mother to help care for his son. They go to Boston frequently for treatment and do not have a car- they often have to take the bus or ask for a ride. The family could use assistance with medical bills and transportation. Learn More

Thursday 12/12

Lea, mom of 2, recently underwent surgery for 2 ruptured discs in her back. The recovery has been long and complicated. While she has been out of work (she works at Our Sisters’ School), she has struggled to make payments on her car and it was repossessed. She was able to pull together some money to get the car back, but knows that this could happen again while she is out of work. Lea is very involved in the community, she’s been volunteered for a number of organizations including Love the Ave- where she painted several murals to help beautify the community. She can’t wait to get back to work, but the recovery has been challenging and extremely painful. She has 2 young girls- one a student at OSS and the other 5 years old.

Friday 12/13

Christopher, 15, was diagnosed in April with Ewing Sarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer that requires biweekly chemo and an amputation of his toe this summer. He is now in physical therapy and uses a knee scooter and walker to get around. Chris has missed a lot of his freshman year at GNBVT between treatments and feeling under the weather – he is often nauseous and exhausted. While his last cancer treatment is just around the corner, this year has been extremely stressful for the whole family. Both his parents have depleted their FMLA time with the frequent trips to Boston for treatment and they are doing whatever they can to keep things as normal as possible. Learn More