Holiday Express 2020
December 4th, 2020 New Jersey’s Holiday Express performed virtually for our program participants at Inroads to Opportunities.
Since its inception in 1993, The Holiday Express mission is to deliver music, food, gifts, financial support and friendship to those with the greatest need for the gift of human kindness during the holiday season and throughout the year.
This year marks the second annual performance that the band and their amazing musicians and staff donated to Inroads to help make our season brighter. In December 2019, Holiday Express performed live at Inroads for 350+ program participants, staff and family members. Given the circumstances of this year, we were extremely fortunate to have Holiday Express perform and make this event work.
Holiday Express volunteer generously dropped off over 120 lunches and gift bags for our program participants.
Jersey Mike’s donated over 120 lunches for our program participants and staff members, which included a sub sandwich, chips, cookies, candy and a drink.
This year to ensure the safety of our participants, our Holiday Express event was spread out across two of our warehouse buildings. After lunch was served we enjoyed an hour long virtual performance from the Holiday Express Band pre-recorded with an orchestra full of incredible musicians.
Inroads set up two 60 inch TV screens on 6 ft. trusses with professional sound. Our participants danced and clapped along to the music across the entirety of the performance. We set up markers on the floor 6 ft. apart to keep everyone socially distanced. Participants clapped between songs to show their appreciation for the band.
After the performance, each participant was gifted a holiday express tote bag with a variety of goodies.
We would like to send a huge thank you to Holiday Express for making this year possible! Thank you to Jersey Mike’s Subs for a delicious meal and to all the vendors who donated items for our gift bags.
Additionally we would like to thank Liliana Fornes for helping us coordinate this event. Holiday Express staff member Amy Robinson, Tim McCloone and the volunteers and musicians who donated their time and talents.
Last but not least, we would like to thank our staff members who helped us serve meals, deliver gift bags and keep everyone safe. Everyone from our kitchen staff- Rita, Denise, Natalie, Karen & Shantasia, our vocational rehabilitation team members- Michele, Cyndy, Dan, Harry, Bryan,Letty, Tammy, Steve, Martha, Gayl, Dale, Donna, Lynn, and our supervisors and assembly services staff members for helping make our event run smoothly!
Special thanks to Strike Sound and Lighting in Linden, NJ for helping us with this virtual set up!
Happy Holidays Everyone!