How the Dedham Youth Commission is Keeping the Holiday Spirit Alive

This past year has brought many hardships. Some have lost jobs, lost loved ones, and most of all, hope. Nevertheless, Rob Blaney and his team at the Youth Commission have done marvelous work bringing that hope back this season. They have brought the joys and wonders of the holidays to the children of Dedham in need, and with every gift granted, left us all feeling a little more jolly.

Every year, the Youth Commission’s Holiday Gift Giving Program provides toys, clothes, and joy to more than 375 children in Dedham. Money is typically raised through donations, sponsors, and community events with various holiday themes. Due to the neverending impacts of COVID-19, the program was facing a difficult year. The number of children in need raised due to the loss of jobs and numerous sponsors and donors had to drop out. This left the Youth Commission scrambling for ways to make up the lost money. Despite this, the Dedham Youth Commission Team came up with many different ways to raise money.

Not only did they come up with a way to raise money to secure gifts for children in Dedham, they also found a way to bring the holiday spirit to families all around town. Their “Mobile Santa” program was a smashing success and resulted in many merry customers. In return for a $50 gift card, the Youth Commission’s Santa, Chuck Dello Iacono, would come and visit the children. Alongside Santa, his elf, Greg Cabral, and coordinator, Rob Blaney. Their exclusive Santa trip came with a festive photo booth van so the families could capture all the joy. They set up a portable printer to give the photos directly to the family once taken.

Many families jumped at the opportunity to have Santa stop by. Once the news was out with the 6 dates listed, the Santa team were sold out in a matter of days. Along with the “Mobile Santa” came a series of drive-in movie nights.

For the same admission, families could come to Endicott Estate and see some of their favorite movies displayed. Each car was asked to donate a $50 for children in need of gifts this holiday season. The Youth Commission would set up two 20 foot inflatable screens, as many speakers as they could, FM transmitters, and have costume characters in attendance from the movie showing that night. Some of the movies and characters presented were Toy Story with Woody and Mr. Potato Head, Frozen with Elsa & Olaf, and they wrapped it all up with Santa on December 4th while screening the Grinch Movie.

In total, the Youth Commission were able to bring smiles to hundreds of children’s faces. Over 375 children will receive $100 in gift cards which they will all receive as holiday gifts. The number of children the Youth Commission help is raising each coming day.

The Youth Commission didn’t stop there. Through their work on the COVID-19 Task Force, the Youth Commision collected new children’s coats to distribute to children who have no other means of getting them. They were able to give 250 children warm coats to shield them from the harsh weather people in New England face every year. This took place over the past two weeks and overlapped with their Santa work.

With a year of so many lows, the Youth Commission allowed us all to end on a positive note. The Youth Commission has been a program which provides many opportunities and experiences for the youth of Dedham. Facing hardships that would make many give in, the Youth Commission rose to the occasion. They left us all with a December to remember for a reason other than COVID-19.