45 years later, Al Julius' vision lives on through the KDKA Turkey Fund

The 45th annual KDKA Turkey Fund is officially underway! We kicked it off on Sept. 18 on Pittsburgh Today Live, and every Wednesday until Thanksgiving, we'll be sharing stories about the Turkey Fund and why it's so important to thousands of local families.

On this milestone year, we thought it only fitting to start with the Turkey Fund's origin story.

What we know today as the KDKA Turkey Fund began as "Julius' Turkeys" and was started by the late KDKA-TV News commentator Al Julius.

In 1982, as the region's steel industry began to decline, mill after mill closed, leaving so many local people unemployed.

A KDKA-TV viewer named Ms. Love sent Al $10 and asked him to use it to buy food for our neighbors in need at the holidays.

During an interview in 1999, Al recalled, "It was important to have this done at that particular time because, again, you were talking at that time with mills closing, with a lot of people being hungry and something had to be done. And it was done, and I'm very proud of it."

That first year, Al raised $90,000.

"It just grew and grew and grew from there. I mean, the most beautiful letters would be the third or fourth year where they'd say, 'I'm sending you $10 and another $10 because I took $10 from you two years ago,'" Al remembered.

Now, as we celebrate the 45th annual Turkey Fund, we're on a mission to a million this year!

We're hoping to raise $1,000,000 in a single year for the Turkey Fund, for the first time ever! We've come close, but we've never hit a million.

And that's something Al couldn't have ever imagined, according to former KDKA-TV News reporters Lynn Sawyer, Mary Robb Jackson and Harold Hayes.

"Oh, he'd be so proud, for one thing," Sawyer said.

Jackson added, "Right. I think he would."

"And I think he would've said he knew the Pittsburgh area was going to respond, but he wouldn't have known the numbers. Nobody could've imagined that," Hayes said.

All three of them worked alongside Al.

Jackson said, "There has never been nor will ever be another Al Julius."

"He had a gruff exterior, but he had a soft heart for regular folk", Hayes added.

Sawyer said, "The community meant everything to him."

None of them can believe four and a half decades have passed.

Jackson said, "It's hard to believe that we're talking, how many years later, about one small gesture that somebody started with. One little thing that has meant so much to so many families in our area and still does. And these days people need it more than ever."

"It says something that the station still continues that kind of effort knowing that our viewers are more than just ratings points. They are a part of our community. They are our neighbors," added Hayes.

But they all know Al would be so grateful for all of you who continue to support the Turkey Fund, year after year, and have helped raise more than $20 million since the beginning.

Jackson said, "I think he would certainly talk about the folk out there who have been putting money in envelopes and dropping it by their bank for all these years."

"And he really would've passed it off as, 'Well, that's the community we live in.' He wouldn't take credit," Sawyer said.

And they're also pretty sure Al would be amused by the fact that we're honoring him and paying tribute to this extraordinary thing he created.

"He would think this is very funny. He would. He's up there laughing at us now. He really would be. But the fact is we're celebrating Al these years later, and that's a wonderful thing," Jackson said.

Al Julius died in 2002, but all of us here at KDKA are committed to continuing his work every Thanksgiving, and because of that, Al will always be here with us.

And now's your chance to pitch in and help us continue Al's work!

There are four ways to donate to the KDKA Turkey Fund. 

• You can go to any PNC Bank. If you donate in person, they'll match all donations, up to $100,000. 
• You can also text "KDTURKEY" to 50155. 
• You can donate online at kdkaturkeyfund.com.
• And we're also still accepting checks. Mail them to "PO Box Thanks, Pittsburgh, PA 15230."

From all of us at KDKA-TV, thank you!