Brewster Town Staff and Volunteers Assist Residents in Need During the Holidays

Town of Brewster departments and volunteers have once again been hard at work throughout the festive period to help residents in need.

Natural Resources. For the fifth straight year, the Department of Natural Resources held their annual food drive at Mants Landing.  The popular event filled two trucks with non-perishable food donations to help restock the Brewster Baptist Church food pantry.  “The Department would like to thank all who participated and helped make this event such a success,” said Natural Resources Director, Chris Miller.

Recreation. During the Brewster for the Holidays weekend, the Brewster Recreation Department donated gifts to 15 different families as part of their annual Holiday for Hope program.  Between revenue from the Breakfast with Santa event, and donations from staff, the Town was able to provide each child with roughly $200 worth of gifts.  These included toys, and necessary clothing such as pants, shirts and jackets.  Two sold out sessions of the Breakfast with Santa event were held at Ocean Edge, with 100 people attending each session. On Sunday December 3, the Recreation Department partnered with the Cultural Council and the Brewster Garden Club for a holiday wreath decorating party at the Bay Property.

Garden Club & Men’s Club. The Brewster Garden Club was also busy working with the Brewster Men’s Club, volunteering their time together to help the community prepare for “Brewster for the Holidays”. Members of the Garden Club made holiday wreaths at the Brewster VFW 9917, which were then hung along Main Street by the Men’s Club.

Ladies Library. Brewster Ladies Library staff are continuing their special holiday tradition of the Holiday Giving Tree.  The library has once again partnered with the local Department of Children and Families to collect gifts for the Family to Family program. Brewster residents visited the library in November to collect paper ornaments labeled with the gift wishes of several Cape Cod children in need, and they are now in the process of returning wrapped gifts under the tree. This important annual program always helps to make the holiday season brighter for so many families.

Police. The Brewster Police Department, working closely with the Recreation Department, purchased Christmas presents for several local families. The Police Department also participated in the annual Stuff-A-Cruiser event at the Lemon Tree Plaza, which was sponsored by the Village Toy Store.  All toys collected during this event were donated to Lower Cape Outreach. 

In addition, the Police Department and Fire Departments have been collecting toys in their lobbies to be donated to the Toys-For-Tots program.  These were delivered on Sunday, December 10 as part of the public safety convoy to the WCOD Stuff-A-Bus in Hyannis.

Fire. The Brewster Fire Department is working with many local businesses, organizations, and individuals for the Homeless for the Holidays event, which took place from December 6 – December 10 at the Immaculate Conception Church parking lot, 2580 Main Street. Local firefighters accepted new unwrapped toys, non-perishable food items, and monetary donations. The toys and food donations received from this event will provide much needed assistance to those in need. Last year, as a result of generous donations from residents, over 643 lbs. of non-perishable food was donated to the Harwich Food Pantry, and $3,500 in monetary donations was donated to the Lower Cape Outreach Council.   

Golf. Meanwhile, over at the Golf Course, the Friends of Captains collected food and cash for the Lower Cape Outreach Council, and contributed $500 themselves. The estimated total contribution amount in food and cash for the Lower Cape Outreach council was over $2,000. The Friends also collected $635 in cash and checks for the Cape and Islands Veterans Outreach Center and contributed a further $500, for a total of $1,135. “The food drive was a great success,” said Roger Normand, Friends of Captains Treasurer.

“These heartwarming efforts to help our neighbors in need are a testament to the generosity and kindness of our staff and residents,” said Town Manager, Peter Lombardi.  “On behalf of all Town of Brewster employees and volunteers, we would like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season.”