On November 18th, just a few nights before Thanksgiving, 40 Junior Cheerleaders joined the Patriots Cheerleaders at Gillette Stadium as part of the "Celebrate Volunteerism" initiative, and supporting Cradles to Crayons, an organization that provides coats, clothing and other important basics of life to children, free of charge. The program took place at Patriot Place and in addition to the Cradles to Crayons coat drive, the Junior Cheerleaders celebrated the annual tree lighting. The "giving tree" was adorned with ornament tags containing special holiday requests from children in need. Visitors to Patriot Place are invited to take an ornament from the tree and purchase the assigned gift to fulfill a child's wish. Sadie and Miriam, who participated in our Junior Cheerleader co-appearance each chose an ornament and said they can't wait to shop for the child they selected.
The Junior Cheerleaders began the night by putting on their Santa hats and then pinning on MHK pins, their rewards for community service. Next, they formed circles and one by one, stood in front of their group of peers to individually speak about things that they were personally thankful for. Christmas carol practice was next and the Junior Cheerleaders sounded amazing! From Jingle Bells to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to Santa Claus is Coming to Town, each song rang loud and clear. The group was ready to go up to Patriot Place where five of our Junior Cheerleaders participated in the coat donation ceremony and the rest of the group cheered them on, Special recognition was given to the Junior Cheerleaders for their coat donations.
The Holiday Light Spectacular followed; a beautiful light show in the new solar panels at Patriot Place, set to music. At the conclusion, the Junior Cheerleaders formed a group and sang all of their Christmas carols while countless shoppers took photos. Junior Cheerleaders carried baskets of toys and goodies which they handed out to children who passed by and then they headed over to the giant Christmas tree set up in Patriot Place. After joining in the countdown, the lights on the tree went on! Finally, the Junior and Patriots Cheerleaders called out a loud cheer for Santa, who came over and posed for photos with the group.
It was a fun night for all of the Junior Cheerleaders and the Patriots Cheerleaders as well. Thank you for your spirit and your community service! Happy Thanksgiving and we look forward to seeing you in the spring!
