NEWBURYPORT — The Wolfe Club’s Cocoa & Caroling event earlier this month brought the community together, cozily sheltered under a heated tent at Waterfront Park, to kick off the holiday season and to celebrate the spirit of giving back.
The rain didn’t deter the crowd of over 100 and the hot cocoa and cookies provided by Opportunity Works kept everyone warm. Tinkerhaus ran an ornament decorating station for the kids and Gina McKeown conducted the Greater Newburyport Children’s Chorus for a set of holiday classics and sing alongs with the Wolfe Club members and friends closing the night with Jingle Bell Rock.
“Thank you to everyone who made the event special and for those who braved the rain to be there,” Wolfe Club President and founder Michael Switzer said.
According to Wolfe Club members, the highlight of the night was a visit by Santa Claus, delivering a check for the $8,000 raised from the Turkey Classic Golf Tournament which was divided evenly across eight local charities supporting food security: Our Neighbors’ Table, Friends of Newburyport Youth Services, Newbury Food Pantry, The Veterans Legacy Initiative, The Salvation Army- Newburyport Massachusetts, St. Vincent DePaul , Among Friends at St Paul’s and The Pettengill House, Inc. Representatives of each organization were present to accept the donations directly from the members of the Wolfe Club.
“It was like our own little Christmas Woodstock. It was awesome. I’m so proud to be a part of this community who showed up in a big way to support the Children’s Chorus, Opportunity Works, and of course to help promote Food Security,” Matt Blanchette, Wolfe Club member and Turkey Classic founder Matt Blanchette said.