SEAPORT DISTRICT — Thirty-five years ago, Sparky Kennedy and her husband, Jake, started what became a huge holiday tradition in Boston: a festive party for shelter residents known as Christmas In the City.
“We had 165 kids that first year,” Sparky said. “We did it in City Hall”
The event grew along with the problem of homelessness -- to the point where the last in-person Christmas in the City hosted thousands.
That was in 2019. And then came Covid -- and restrictions on gatherings -- followed by the death of Jake Kennedy in 2020 from ALS. Christmas In The City persisted -- but in an adjusted form that had presents and meals delivered to shelters.
But now, Christmas In The City is back the way it used to be -- albeit in a new venue: the Flynn Marine Terminal in the Seaport District. It’s a somewhat scaled-down event which Sunday served about a thousand shelter residents.
And it took about a thousand volunteers to bring the event back to its old format, led now by Kennedy’s sons Chip and Zack.
“There’s great food, there’s great activities. And the kids are going to have a blast,” said Sparky Kennedy. “I never not wanted to do it. The heart was kind of heavy. But, you know, my kids just brought me up and said, Mom, we can do this and so they did.”
“A lot of volunteers who have been doing this for decades are here today and have come to me and are emotional today,” said Chip Kennedy. “Losing my father and so much of what he built with my Mom and this organization hurt. But coming back, it’s not just about that grief, although that’s part of it. “It’s about living through his vision, and his vision with my Mom, what they wanted.”
What they wanted, originally, was to provide a day of respect and fun to help shelter residents feel special. As in years past, that began with a red-carpet reception during which the guests were cheered as they made their way into the party.
“Coming in brought tears to my eyes,” said Amanda, a mother of three and a shelter resident. “I won’t forget it. My kids are going to talk about it.”
Amanda said she and her three children, ages 7, 5 and 4, wound up in a shelter together over the summer.
“I lost my husband last year, so it’s been a hard couple of years,” she said. Her goal in 2025 is the goal so many in shelters have: to find an apartment.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2024 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
