Georgetown hosts Caroling on the Circle

Sussex County’s spirit of giving is lifting spirits and giving hope to those in need this holiday season. 

Hundreds turned out in downtown Georgetown Dec. 5, for the 41st annual Caroling on the Circle to celebrate the season and help those in need. This year’s event, sponsored by Sussex County government, again preceded the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas parade, a pairing started in 2023 to give the community one festive-filled evening of music, marching units and merriment.

Organizers at the end of evening announced that Caroling on the Circle so far has collected more than 17,000 canned goods and other nonperishable items for local pantries, which will feed needy families in the community during the colder winter months ahead. The campaign continues through the end of December.

Each year, Caroling on the Circle kicks off the holiday season for Sussex County, while serving as a community food drive to benefit local food banks. Started in 1984 as part of the Delaware First initiative, Caroling on the Circle continues to help those in need a generation later. To date, the community has donated more than 800,000 food items through the Caroling on the Circle program throughout the course of its 41-year history.

“Year after year, I am continually amazed by, and thankful for, the outpouring of generosity we see displayed throughout the Caroling on the Circle program,” said Sussex County Administrator Todd F. Lawson. “Sussex Countians coming together, for their fellow citizens, to celebrate tradition and continuing the tradition of helping those among us who maybe need that extra support, especially during the holidays. It makes me proud to call Sussex County home.”

As part of the event, Sussex County once again called on the public to Pack the Pod by setting up a 14-foot-by-7-foot storage trailer on the Circle. The unit served as a focal point for the event and to heighten awareness about the food drive. And, new this year, the county partnered with the Food Bank of Delaware to help with online donations, as well as collection and distribution of items to local pantries.

This year’s event, along with collections from Sussex County Council, county employees, numerous schools, groups and businesses leading up to the event, helped the preliminary total to reach about 17,250 items. With several weeks still left in the drive, the county hopes to take the final total even higher by the New Year.

In 2023, the campaign collected more than 18,000 items for local pantries.

For this year’s efforts, the public can continue to drop off canned goods and nonperishable food items between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the County Administrative Offices building on the Circle in Georgetown. The Caroling on the Circle/Pack the Pod food drive will continue until Tuesday, Dec. 31. Meantime, monetary donations, at https://give.fbd.org/caroling, will continue to be accepted throughout the month of December. 

Items collected will be donated to about 20 area pantries, shelters and church organizations for distribution within Sussex County.