The spirit of giving was made apparent over the holiday season as numbers from the latest “Making Spirits Bright” campaign were officially released on Monday. The annual effort organized by Sheboygan County Rotary Clubs and volunteers, collects voluntary donations of food and provides a drive-through holiday light experience that’s been called “one of the best light shows” around. And while it’s free to enjoy, it’s paid for by the 14,665 hours spent by 1,132 volunteers who constructed, operated, and then put away the display. But as a result of that work this year, 89,166 total visitors in 23,615 vehicles from throughout Wisconsin and 12 different states as far away as California contributed 117,324 pounds of food that were donated to the Sheboygan County Food Bank. That organization’s Executive Director, Patrick Boyle, said that “…over the past 13 years, a grand total of 1.2 million pounds of food, as well as generous grants from the event’s proceeds, have helped us to move the needle in the fight against hunger in Sheboygan County.”
Image Courtesy of Making Spirits Bright
Four volunteers were recognized for their service, among them, Joan King who is retiring from her volunteer efforts at Santa’s Station, along with Kayla Burhop who was given the Chairman’s Award, Chris Planton who garnered the Unsung Hero Award, and Volunteer of the Year awardee, Fred Engelhardt.
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