The annual Inky Santa provided thousands of gifts for hundreds of children this year alone, and volunteers were standing by to help wraps these gifts for families in need.
Jackie Pierce & Amy Wiggin help organize kids' toys at the Inky Santa gift wrapping event.
Jim Sulzer shows Kyra White how to wrap up gifts for the holidays.
James, Jacob, and Alex Aloisi check out some gift ideas for their own Christmas lists.
Inky Santa on Nantucket has been helping families in need for nearly two decades. Thanks to the help of the board members of Inky Santa, plus a ton of local volunteers and donations, hundreds of our island’s children have received gifts for the holidays every year.
Meg Connolly, an Inky Santa Chairwoman, explained that Inky Santa is a non-profit organization for families on the island. "There are well over 1000 gifts [donated this year] for 223 kids," she said.
A great feat for a small community, the annual Inky Santa gift-wrapping volunteer event on Dec 15 had dozens of community members give their time at the Nantucket Fire Department.
Lynne Aloisi also sits on the board as an Inky Santa Chairwoman. She explained that a hotline is opened for families in need to call in to. "They tell us their wish list," she said, "We do our best to pride for their list."
Inky Santa, which accepts donation year-round, has a higher client list this year compared to prior years, according to Aloisi. Donations, on the other hand, are down.
There was no shortage of volunteers, however, to make sure these gifts were all wrapped up for the children for the holidays. Inky Santa volunteer Alesia Hamideh, who also donated her time at the American Legion Thanksgiving Dinner, said "It's amazing, all of the services offered through Nantucket giving back to the community."
"I tell people off-island what Nantucket does for its community and they're amazed."
For more information on volunteer opportunities on the island, check out our story on Giving Back to Nantucket.
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