The Red Stocking Fund distributes food
vouchers for Thanksgiving and again in March, but its big push comes for
the winter holidays. Its roots date to 1938, when Mrs. Harris M.
Crist asked her friends to fill six red stockings with gifts for needy
children.Red
Stocking holds benefit events throughout the year to support its work,
including the annual chowder festival in Edgartown. The Vineyard
Harley Riders last year raised $17,000 in their Toys for Tots Run.
The
money is used strictly for clothing and food according to fund co
director Kerry Alley. Toy donations are accepted from other sources.
More than 275 children from 160
families received food and gifts through the Red Stocking Fund, and the
list grows every year. Confidentiality is critical to the operation.
Parents provide a list of their children's most needed clothing and
hoped for toys; each child is then assigned an identification number
that allows volunteers to match the right gift packages with the right
people. Each package includes several major items of clothing, like a
jacket or sweater. Also: pajamas, socks, underwear and mittens, four or
five toys and a book donated by the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore.
In mid-December a group of volunteers
will gather at Grace Church to begin wrapping, making sure that children
waking up on Christmas morning find colorful packages adorned with
ribbons and bows.
For more information contact Kerry
Alley at 508-693-2324 or Lorraine Clark at 508-693-0725. Checks in
support of the Red Stocking Fund may be mailed to Barbara Silva,
Treasurer, P.O. Box 74, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.
