St. Susan Center officials and “Haul for the Holidays” sponsors

The 10th Annual “Haul for the Holidays” to benefit St. Susan Center will take place December 15 through 17.

Northwest Arena Executive Director Keith Martin will stand outside the Jamestown Cycle Shop for three days, accepting food and monetary donations.

Martin said the experience is heartwarming to see the support from the community, “I always say it may be cold outside for those three days, but each time somebody drives up and drops off a donation, you get all warm inside. So, I enjoy doing it. I enjoy seeing the people come in to help support St. Susan’s.”

St. Susan Center Director Cherie Rowland says the needs at the Center are as high as ever, “We’ve seen about a 15% from fourth quarter last year to fourth quarter this year. So, we’re on pace to feed 34,000 meals this year.”

Rowland said that Keith Martin’s goal was to try to raise enough funds to make it $150,000 total for the last 10 years, “He’s on track to do 150,000 pounds, am I right? [Keith Martin – “120,000”] 120,000 pounds. So, last year he collected 13,000 pounds and $24,000 for St. Susan’s. It’s truly been amazing.”

Rowland added that St. Susan Center remains open Monday through Saturdays, with a special Christmas Eve dinner being available noon to 1:45 p.m., Saturday, December 24.

The “Haul for the Holidays” donations can be dropped off at the Jamestown Cycle Shop, located at 10 Harrison Street, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Thursday, December 15, 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday, December 16, and 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday, December 17.