Cruising for a cause: Day on the lake with Children's Auction makes big splash

WEIRS BEACH — On the heels of a highly-successful fundraising event aboard the M/S Mount Washington, volunteers with the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction spent Wednesday morning paying it forward, hosting around 250 children on the boat for a cruise around Lake Winnipesaukee. 

The auction's Christmas in July cruise, held July 10, raised $28,000 this year. It’s an annual fundraiser, and this year was the strongest showing yet. Since its inception, the organization has raised and distributed over $9.2 million to regional nonprofit organizations.

Mount Washington Cruises General Manager Jared Maraio matched tickets sold for the Christmas in July event last month, and made a donation of tickets on top of that, to facilitate the unique experience for Lakes Region children.

The ship embarked promptly at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning from the docks at Weirs Beach, churning out into the lake toward Wolfeboro. Hundreds of kids from organizations like the Boys & Girls Club of Central New Hampshire, Got Lunch!, Lakes Region Mental Health Center, Copper Cannon Camp, Big Brothers Big Sisters NH, Family Resource Center and others were treated to ice cream as their journey got underway. 

Jennifer Kelley, Children's Auction executive director, said it’s important the organization provides opportunities for new experiences to children, in addition to funding organizations which serve local youth, “which to me is so valuable,” she said. 

There were about 120 children with the Boys & Girls Club alone. 

“We could not pull this off without the Mount Washington, and all the people who bought tickets for the Christmas in July cruise,” Kelley said.

This year, Maraio told Kelley he’d match all of the tickets, “so that we could get all of these kids on.”

“This part,” Kelley said about the resulting kids cruise, noting some children live around the lake, yet rarely get the chance to enjoy it. “I just can’t put that into words.”

Franklin Savings Bank staff helped through their sponsorship of the cruise. Lakes Region Home Builders Association and the New Hampton School sponsored ice cream for the kids.

“Sponsoring the Christmas in July Cruise with the Greater Lakes Children’s Auction was an absolute honor,” Jenn Prince, marketing and community engagement officer at FSB wrote in a statement. “Knowing that it allowed [hundreds of] children with their chaperones to experience the joy of today’s Kids Cruise at no cost made it even more special. We are deeply grateful for everything the Children’s Auction does to support children in the Lakes Region.”

Once aboard the Mount, Morgan Mitchell, Emily Aguiar and Melanie Anderson worked diligently to paint their faces, and the line looked to be nearly a mile long. Paige Thompson, a Children's Auction volunteer, helped children write letters to Santa at the North Pole Post Office on the ship’s second deck.

“Your life is created by a variety of different experiences,” Kelley said. “The more experiences we can give to our youth, the more enriched their lives will be.”

For Jayne Weakley, a member of the auction's community engagement committee, the Kids Cruise is a symbol of the organization’s efforts to provide for Lakes Region children.

“Which is wonderful, they’re really enjoying it,” she said. 

Bob Carter, director of operations for the Boys & Girls Club of the Lakes Region, said he was happy when Children's Auction volunteers reached out to him with tickets for the cruise.

“It’s a really unique opportunity for these kids,” he said. “They seem to be having a good time — it’s about ‘everybody belongs.’” 

Judi Taggart, longtime volunteer for the auction, said many of the children represented on the cruise may never have been on a boat, let alone the historic M/S Mount Washington.

“It’s an opportunity for them to see the lake from a different viewpoint,” she said. “The face painting is great, I love watching their faces. A lot of great things are happening today.”

And the fundraising is by no means over for the summer — after all three showings of "Elf the Musical" presented by Powerhouse Theater Collaborative, kids from the cast will be dressed in costume, standing in the lobby of the Colonial Theatre as patrons leave the show. They’ll be holding buckets, gathering donations to support the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction.

“It supports so many organizations of all types, filling so many needs throughout the Lakes Region,” Powerhouse Producer Bryan Halperin said Wednesday afternoon. 

"Elf" runs Friday through Sunday at the Colonial Theatre in downtown Laconia.