WCCO Radio - for over 100 years now working to be a "Good Neighbor" to the Twin Cities, Minnesota, and the Upper Midwest - is excited to share that the station is a proud recipient of the National Association of Broadcaster's 2025 Celebration of Service to America Award for large market radio stations. This prestigious award honors excellence and commitment to community service through their dedication and initiatives put forth in 2024.
WCCO Radio and host Sheletta Brundidge won for the "Door Locks for Families with Autistic Children" program. That submission is shared below. The award ceremony will take place June 10 in Washington D.C. You can see other award winners here.
Submission
In June of 2024, a 4-year old boy in Hopkins, Minnesota wandered away from his home and was later found drowned in a local creek. It turned out, the boy was non-verbal and autistic, which struck WCCO Radio host and activist Sheletta Brundidge as an opportunity to help a portion of the community often ignored, misunderstood, and lacking resources to keep their children safe.
It was that unfortunate death of a child that led to the realization it was happening in other places. In Minnesota, and across the country. What started out as a "news story" on WCCO Radio ended in a mission of hope for parents thanks to Brundidge's commitment and the platform provided by WCCO.
Brundidge has been a longstanding and passionate advocate for families with special needs, especially autism. The podcaster, broadcaster and mother of three children on the autism spectrum, Brundidge uses her platform to share resources and knowledge about services to support families like hers.
“My son Daniel is a wanderer; he will wander off if a door is open a crack or unlocked,” shared Brundidge. “We’re watching our kids, but they are very fast. Kids with autism are often drawn to water. People say, ‘just teach them to swim’ but when they’re nonverbal and have a hard time following simple instructions, it’s not that easy.”
These are tools and knowledge not every parent of young children on the spectrum may have. Brundidge made it her mission to not just figure out a way to get that message out there, but actually put these locks in the hands of parents.
Over the next six months, Brundidge did just that, initially partnering with Amazon and eventually purchasing locks on her own and asking others to help donate. Brundidge then coordinates with fire and police departments before selecting the locks she buys and holds special giveaway events where she often broadcasted her WCCO Radio show, including locations in Minnesota, Boston, her hometown of Houston, and others where tragedies like the one in Hopkins back in June had occurred.
Brundidge said that’s the goal: to bring parents of autistic children together to prevent another part of the struggle which is isolation.
“At events like this, we’re not only passing out locks, but you can meet another parent who has a child with autism so you can connect, make a friend and feel like you’re not alone, like you’re not a bad parent. These parents can find their people, their community, their tribe.”
This is just the second time WCCO has won the Service to America Award. The first time was 2015 for our commitment to feeding those in need in the community through Second Harvest Heartland and Union Gospel Mission radiothons.