The 2023 holiday season was once again very enjoyable and a huge success for the Boys Town New England community.
The season kicked off with our annual Holiday Spectacular event in which each of our Family Homes were decorated and opened to the community. Each home featured different foods and desserts as well as tours for our visitors. The evening was capped off by the annual tree lighting and, of course, a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.
A couple of weeks later, the Viking Riders made their annual visit to Boys Town and distributed gifts to children in the Family Homes.
“It’s one of my favorite days of the year,” said Boys Town New England Executive Director Sarah Galvan. “Viking Riders are so good to us. We appreciate all they do to make the holidays brighter for our kids and thank them for sponsoring this yearly event.”
The Viking Riders have sponsored annual Toy Runs since 1998 throughout Rhode Island. The group’s donations to local agencies and families have grown every year. This year, the Viking Riders delivered more than 1,000 toys to children in need.
December was capped off by our annual Adopt A Child Campaign. As part of the campaign, the PARE Corporation again provided gifts for over 50 Boys Town Foster Care kids and families. Special thanks to Jay Bowen, Deb Poulos and Sarah Pierce for coordinating the gift ordering and wrapping from PARE.
Thanks to 92 donors, this year’s Boys Town New England campaign was able to raise $17,614. This was a 106% increase from last year’s total of $8,425, and a 113% increase in donors.
“Once again the Boys Town philanthropic community came through in the biggest of ways to support all of the kids we work with,” said Boys Town Fundraising Director Glenn Hofmann. “We are all so appreciative of the generosity of our donors. These numbers don’t even include the countless gifts that were bought for our kids from individual donors and organizations such as Raise the Bar.”