A Very RAINEy Christmas

Slideshow photos by Tamara Woolley and Art Gallagher

Giving has been the gift for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of RAINE Foundation volunteer over the last three weeks as they gave their time and effort to ensure over 400 families and an estimated 2600 children from throughout Monmouth County have Christmas gifts this holiday season.

200 volunteers, 100 of them dressed as Santa or an elf, gathered at the former Holy Family School in Hazlet last night for the 14th annual RAINE Foundation Holiday Gift distribution.

The volunteers loaded their gifts on fire trucks from Union Beach, Keansburg, Hazlet, Keyport, Aberdeen, Matawan, Middletown and Holmdel, and mini-vans provided by Buhler Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, Straub Motors Buick GMC, Pine Belt Nissan and Tom’s Ford for their journeys throughout the Bayshore and as far south as Eatontown. By 9 p.m. last night, most of the gifts had been delivered.

Patti Dickens, one of the groups founders and leaders, told MMM that in addition to the deliveries last night, gifts for 75 families from DCCP (formerly DYFS) were picked up today, as were 600 gifts each for Project Paul in Keansburg and St. Anthony’s in Lakewood, and 150 gifts to the Puerto Rican Association in Perth Amboy.

By 2 p.m. this afternoon, the Holy Family gym was empty and swept.