Homeless For The Holidays Returns To Brooks Park

November 30, 2023

by William F. Galvin

Harwich Fire Department members (left to right) Eric Diamond, Ryan Edwards, Andrew Ottino, Brandon Ferro and Scott Tyldesley were guarding the camp in Brooks Park last year during the Homeless for the Holidays fundraiser, FILE PHOTO

HARWICH – Firefighters and police officers will be returning to Brooks Park on Wednesday, Dec. 6 for the ninth consecutive year seeking contributions to their “Homeless for the Holidays” program, which seeks toys, food, cash and gift cards that will be donated to The Family Pantry of Cape Cod.

The firefighters and police officers will be camped out in the park from Dec. 6 through 10, a total of 103 consecutive hours. The public servants will also be at the chamber of commerce building during the Christmas Stroll in Harwich Port collecting donations from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1.

The Homeless for the Holidays program seeks contributions of non-perishable food items, new unwrapped toys, cash and gift cards that will be given to The Family Pantry. In the seven years since the program got underway in Harwich, 13,270 pounds of non-perishable food, 8,267 toys, $64,787 in cash and gift cards have been donated.

Last year the weather was not very cooperative, with heavy rains and cold nights, but those conditions did not dampen the spirit of giving. The program generated $9,845 in cash and gift cards, 1,500 pounds of food and 1,100 toys for The Family Pantry.

“Thanks to the amazing support from the community, we were blown away by the amount of donations. We thank the community for their tremendous support,” said Fire Department Lieutenant Brad Willis, coordinator of the program.

This year, Willis said, there will be the return of “Family Day” on Saturday, Dec. 9 from noon to 4 p.m., with Santa arriving by fire truck. There will be games and activities for kids and music in the gazebo for entertainment.

The Homeless for the Holidays program was started in Bourne in 2002 by firefighter Craig Poirer and has expanded to different towns and departments across the Cape. For more information and real-time updates, visit the Facebook page, Homeless for the Holidays – Harwich, follow progress on Instagram at @harwichhomelessfortheholidays, or visit the website at www.homelessfortheholidays.net.