scroll down for 25 photos |
Mark Miller and his staff at Patchogue’s Harbor Crab Co. were at it again Wednesday night.
Each year, the Harbor Crab’s owners, staffers and regulars work to gather hundreds of toys and tens of thousands of dollars for their Kris Kringle holiday drive.
This Wednesday marked the 14th Kris Kringle night, during which The Crab invites hundreds of people for a free dinner before they all embark on a trip through the area on coach buses.
The carolers show up at the door to surprise families either dealing with illness or that have otherwise fallen on hard times. They ring the bell, sing songs and present gifts and a huge check to help the family through the winter.
The Crab raised $25,000 Wednesday night alone, in addition to another $50,000 that was raised over the last two months. Three families received $10,000 checks and a couple thousand dollars’ worth of gifts during the night’s events. The remainder of the money will be distributed by a team of Santa and his elves each night over the next week to local families.
“We try to identify families that something major has happened in their world which has knocked them off the path,” Miller said. “And if they could get some help to get back on the path they could manage by themselves, but without help they will just keep spiraling in the wrong direction.”
The deserving families are identified through the schools, local churches, “and, most of all, everyday folks all around you who have a sensitivity for their fellow man,” Miller told greaterpatchogue.com.
Scroll down for 25 photos from the night by contributor Ethan Meyer/That Guy Event Photo + Design. Click the 2, 3, 4 boxes, etc., to view them all. Video above by Ethan Meyer.
