Letter to the Editor: Support for 2018 Holiday Lights

To the Editor:

On behalf of our team at Helping Services for Youth & Families, my gratitude to the community for supporting 2018 Holiday Lights!  This support is crucial in ensuring programs at Helping Services continue to thrive in communities throughout northeast Iowa.

Over 400 volunteers helped with Holiday Lights, from setting up displays to greeting visitors. The popular Walk-Through Night attracted over 1,500 visitors, a 150% increase from the previous year. The donated soup, cookies, coffee and hot chocolate were once again a big hit.

During the event visitors helped us break the all-time attendance record for Holiday Lights by 281 cars. We are grateful to report that free will donations to benefit programs at Helping Services surpassed $35,000 for the first time. Good weather and the public’s enthusiasm made for another remarkable Holiday Lights’ year.

This event could not happen without the support of the community. We appreciate the efforts of everyone for making this event possible and for helping us help others.

We are already starting to plan for an even bigger event with new additions to Holiday Lights. Save the date for the 2019 Walk-through Night Wednesday, November 27, 2019. If you have ideas on how to make the 2019 event better, please reach out to me at benkg@helpingservices.org or 563-387-1720. I look forward to chatting with you about the 2019 Holiday Lights event.

Warm regards,
Ben Krouse-Gagne
Director of Community Engagement
Helping Services for Youth & Families