Paul and Vickie Marton, Glen Gardner, New Jersey

Vickie and Paul’s first public media experience was listening to “The Santaland Diaries,” David Sedaris’ unforgettable account of working as an elf at Macy’s on This American Life. “I thought it was funny, delightful and, like nothing we’ve ever heard. I wanted to know more about the radio station that would have something on it like that.

Since that time, WHYY has become their constant companion. They begin their morning with Jennifer Lynn at 5:00 a.m. and listen to programs like On The Media while taking their dog on a walk or harvesting tomatoes from their garden. “We support WHYY because it has become more important to us every single day that public radio and public television are vital for our country, citizenship and democracy. We can’t get a civil informed society that knows what is going on in our community without WHYY. It is the most important thing to us, and this is why we are leaving a significant portion of our estate to WHYY.”