Christmas sounds, lights in downtown Georgetown
More than 500 carolers gathered in downtown Georgetown for the 35th Annual Caroling on The Circle Dec. 3 to sing in the Christmas season, but more importantly, to collect more than 24,000 canned goods and other nonperishable items for local food pantries.
Each year, the event kicks off the holiday season for Sussex County, while serving as a community food drive to benefit local food banks. Started in 1984 as part of the Delaware First initiative, Caroling on The Circle continues to help those in need a generation later. To date, the community has donated more than 725,000 food items throughout the course of its 35-year history.
Items collected will be donated to approximately 15 area pantries, shelters and church organizations for distribution in Sussex County.
Monday night’s event, along with collections from Sussex County Council, county employees, numerous schools, groups and businesses leading up to the event, helped this year’s preliminary total to reach 24,556 items. With several weeks still left in the drive, the county hopes to take the final total even higher by the New Year.
The public can continue to drop off canned goods and nonperishable food items between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the county administrative office on The Circle or the county west complex offices on Route 113, both in Georgetown. The food drive will continue until Monday, Dec. 31.
County Administrator Todd Lawson acknowledged several participating groups. Those included county council, county employees, Aloft Aero-Architects, Steve Class/Colonial East, First State Manufactured Housing Association, Flex World Fitness, Fuqua, Willard, Stevens & Schab law firm, Sussex County Association of Realtors, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati law firm, Georgetown Elementary, Millsboro Middle, Milton Elementary and Sussex Central High schools.
