November 18, 2022 By Carol Britton Meyer
Gift bag and Wreaths Across America projects are planned again this year, along with an Army/Navy Watch Party, as a way to show appreciation for Hingham and other veterans.
Newly-appointed member Tom Hoffman recently shared news of these planned activities with the Hingham Veterans' Council.
On Friday, Dec. 2, the annual Veterans Gift Bag community service project, organized by the South Shore Special Needs Athletic Partnership, will be underway. "SNAP kids and their mentors will fill 175 shopping bags containing hats, gloves, and personal care products to be distributed to veterans in need in Hingham, Hull, Cohasset, Braintree, and the New England Center and Home for Veterans in Boston," Hoffman said -- thanks to generous donations from five different anonymous sponsors. The assembly will take place at the former Hingham Light Plant on Cushing Street at 3 p.m. that day.
The project started five years ago when Hoffman and his wife, Debbie, helped raise money for gift bags to distribute at the NECHV -- where they both volunteered -- and worked with BJ's to purchase the items at wholesale cost.
Assisted by a group of Hingham Youth Football players, the bags were assembled in the Hoffmans' home the first year.
The second year, the project took on new meaning when Hoffman learned from Hingham Veterans' Services Officer Keith Jermyn that at that time there were 30 veterans and veterans' widows living below the poverty level in Hingham. After hearing this sobering fact, those folks were included in subsequent years, eventually expanding to include Hull and Cohasset veterans.
The Veterans' Council will host an Army/Navy Game Watch Party for veterans and their families at the Beth -- a waterfront restaurant that honors the Shipyard's rich history -- in the Hingham Shipyard on Saturday, Dec. 10. The event opens at 2:30 p.m. and kicks off at 3:15 p.m.
The Hingham High School Veterans Appreciation Club will decorate the function room. Registration is through the Veterans Services Office at Town Hall. The admission price is $15 per person (thanks to generous sponsors) and includes a food buffet, coffee, soda, water and one drink ticket.
For the third year in a row, SNAP will host a community service event in partnership with the Wreaths Across America project on Saturday, Dec. 17. "WAA anticipates that more than 3,300 cemeteries across the country will have wreaths placed on the graves of veterans," Hoffman said.
There are 3,600 veterans' graves in Hingham’s six cemeteries. In 2020, High Street Cemetery was the scene of the first WAA event in Hingham, and last year volunteers placed wreaths in the St. Paul and Fort Hill cemeteries.
This year, 1,050 wreaths will be placed at The Old Ship, Hingham Centre, and Liberty Plain cemeteries. Volunteers may sign up on the WreathsAcrossAmerica.org website, where they can search for the Hingham location. The event starts at 9:30 a.m.
The Hoffmans first learned of the nationwide wreath program a few years ago when they volunteered through the Boston College Alumni Association at Bourne National Cemetery and shared the idea with Jermyn, who embraced the idea. The SNAP board agreed to make it one of their community service projects.
In addition to the December wreath-laying project, Wreaths Across America works throughout the year in a number of ways to show veterans and their families that they are not forgotten.
For more information, visit https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/
