Pittsburgh radio show callers help disabled couple shovel snow from driveway

Sports fans in Pittsburgh stepped up in a major way this week. After 65-year-old listener Colette called into 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh on Friday night requesting help with her snow-piled driveway, the show’s host Colin Dunlap put out a call to action to anyone listening. Instead of donating money and leaving the woman and her husband, also 65, to figure out their snow situation themselves, listeners of the show pulled up to their house in Brackenridge and got to work.

“A year and a half ago my husband fell off of his truck at work and destroyed his foot, his leg, his ankle and still needs to get surgery on his arm,” Colette said on 93.7. “So I went out last year and bought myself a snow blower thinking, ‘OK, I got this made. No problem. We’ll be able to do all the snow here. I’ll be able to go out there because I’m disabled. We’re both 65.’

“I go out there to start this doggone snow blower and it doesn’t work. Brand new. I took care of all the stuff, I know what to do. So here, I ended up spending $800 to save me the trouble of having to do the back thing and hurt myself because I’ve had 28 surgeries.”

UPDATE: Tom showed up and shoveled the driveway for Colette and her family.

This is an awesome story. Worth your time. This is what Western Pennsylvanians do for each other.
So happy I could link them up through the power of live radio.

pic.twitter.com/O9FNaWGISy

— Colin Dunlap (@colin_dunlap) January 20, 2024

Pittsburgh man comes to aid of elderly couple

The host told the couple, which usually has help from a neighbor who was out of town, there was “no way” his listeners would hear the story and not come to their aid. Callers immediately began phoning into the show to see if they were the closest option for Colette and her husband. A man named Tom was on his way within minutes.

“Somebody needs to help Colette out,” Dunlap said. “People need to take care of her snow the rest of this season. She’s had 28 surgeries, her husband fell off a truck and he’s all busted up. There are far too many able-bodied people that this lady needs to be out there. Her snow blower isn’t working? What the hell are we doing? We see all the time on social media and all these things, ‘Help a neighbor out. Pitch in, help out. Do all this stuff.’ It’s not always about giving money. It’s not always about doing things like that. It’s about being able to help people out and giving them 10 minutes or 15 minutes of the time.”

Pittsburgh sports fans have a lot to talk about this week following the end of the Steelers’ season. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is on the hunt for his next offensive coordinator. Rams pass-game coordinator Zac Robinson is among the candidates for the gig, according to Albert Breer.