Harpoon Brews Good Tidings Throughout New England

Boston, MA – On Saturday, December 1^st Boston’s Harpoon Brewery will hold the 4^th Annual Harpoon Helps Spread Holiday Cheer event. Brewery staff will lead approximately 500 volunteers in decorating 33 homeless shelters and community organizations throughout New England with holiday decorations and trees. 

The idea for Harpoon Helps Spread Holiday Cheer originated in 2004 when Harpoon decided to discontinue their annual Christmas Festival. Rather than discard all of the leftover garland, wreaths, lights, and trees used to decorate the large event tent, the brewery opted to offer the decorations to local homeless shelters. Harpoon staff members and volunteers went out in groups to each of the locations to put up the decorations. In the four years since this event began the brewery has tripled the number of shelters decorated and quadrupled the number of participating volunteers.

Rich Doyle, Harpoon CEO and co-founder, will lead a team of volunteers. “This can be an especially difficult time of year for the less fortunate in our area,” says Doyle. “We hope that by adding some holiday decoration to the wonderful agencies that serve our community, we will be making the holidays a little brighter for the people in New England that need it the most.” 

For the second year Harpoon arranged a gift drive so that something could be left under the trees at the shelters. Over the past month the brewery has received nearly $6,000 worth of gifts from generous Harpoon employees and customers who have donated gift cards from stores such as Target, Home Depot, and Dunkin Donuts. The gift cards will be given to the families and individuals at the shelters as holiday gifts.

On Saturday Harpoon staff and volunteers will meet at the Harpoon Brewery in Boston prepared to spread holiday cheer. From the brewery, each team will disperse to their decorating location with their trees and decorations. Once the decorating is complete, volunteers and agency staff members are invited back to the brewery for a post-decorating thank-you gathering.

Harpoon, the largest craft brewer in New England, started the Harpoon Helps program in 2003. Made up of Harpoon Brewery staff and consumers, it is aimed to help those in need in the community. In 2007 alone Harpoon raised over $100,000 for New England charities, donated approximately 28,000 pints for charitable fundraisers, and logged 1,800 volunteer hours through nearly 3 dozen volunteer events. 

Founded in 1986, the Harpoon Brewery distributes its products throughout the Northeast. The Brewery’s line of craft beer features six year-round beers, including its signature Harpoon IPA, and four special seasonal selections. In June 2000, the Harpoon Brewery purchased a second brewery in Windsor, Vermont. In October 2007 the brewery introduced Harpoon Cider, an all-natural cider made from locally grown apples.

Casa Nueva Vida (Jamaica Plain)

Doc & Mary Tynan Senior Center (South Boston)

Millennium House - 2 locations (Roxbury)

Salesian Boys & Girls Club (East Boston)

South Boston Neighborhood House (South Boston)

United South End Settlements (Roxbury)

Crossroads Citizen's Bank Family Center (Providence, RI)

The Upper Valley Haven (White River Junction, VT)