Witches Help Combat Food Insecurity: Sixth Annual Event Raises $18K For Family Table Collaborative

Halloween once again appeared to arrive early in Chatham as caped, behatted paddlers took to the water Saturday at Oyster Pond Beach for the sixth annual Witches on the Water charity fundraiser.

More than $18,000 was raised for local non-profit Family Table Collaborative through the event, during which “witches” paddleboarded out and back in view of dozens of spectators on the sand. The gathering also included a costume contest, among other features.

Witches on the Water was founded in 2019 by Jo-Ellen Erickson and Susan Price. Each year, the organization — via the witchy water sport celebration — raises money for a selected Cape Cod nonprofit.

This year’s beneficiary, Family Table Collaborative, is a South Yarmouth-based food insecurity organization founded by Jeni Wheeler and Harry Henry in 2020.

“What you have done for the Cape Cod community is extraordinary,” Erickson told the Collaborative co-founders at the opening of the benefit event.