Raising the Bar: Harpoon Helps Spread Holiday Cheer Ends on a Sweet Note for St. Ambrose Family Shelter

Sharing quality draft beer and and crafting hard cider for the city of Boston is only one of the ways Harpoon Brewery serves our community; behind the scenes, they are running an organization called Harpoon Helps, dedicated to raising money for charitable causes across New England.

For 19 years, Harpoon Helps hosted an event called Harpoon Helps Spread Holiday Cheer, in which roughly 250 volunteers visited 25 locations throughout the city, including homeless shelters, soup kitchens and children’s play spaces, in order to decorate for the holiday season. Among the organizations they’ve supported is Catholic Charities Boston’s St. Ambrose Family Shelter in Dorchester.

Although Harpoon made the decision to bring the program to an end this year, they committed to sharing their decorations with the sites to keep. Just after Thanksgiving, a team of volunteers donated a large wreath, Christmas tree, and other festive holiday decorations to the shelter, supporting St. Ambrose’s goal of offering a warm, homey space to their residents. St. Ambrose Director Richard Freitas said he and his team couldn’t be more grateful for the partnership they’ve had.

“As an organization Harpoon firmly believes that we have not only a right, but a responsibility, to be a good neighbor and that doing good and having fun can go hand in hand,” said Nicole Sawyer, Event and Sponsorship Manager at Harpoon Helps. “This may be the end of this specific event, but Harpoon is committed to helping their neighbors move forward and bringing cheer to all they interact with.”

Part 3 of our Twelve Days of Giving Series, sharing heartwarming stories about people spreading joy and compassion within our community this holiday season. Explore more ways to give this holiday season on our Ways to Give page.