Red Sox & WooSox Hall of Famer Rich Gedman and WooSox outfielder Corey Rosier come aboard for three days of giving in the fourth annual WooSox Foundation Holiday Caravan

Packed in the WooSox Foundation Care-A-Van, presented by Bank of America, the WooSox Foundation launched its fourth annual Holiday Caravan last week, stopping by and delivering gifts and cheer to over 15 different charitable locations in the greater Worcester community.

The three-day holiday blitz started on Wednesday, Dec.11, with the St. John’s Food for the Poor Program. While WooSox Outfielder Corey Rosier, Boston Red Sox and WooSox Hall of Famer Rich Gedman, and WooSox Foundation Dreammakers made breakfast, Smiley Ball and Clara the Heart of the Commonwealth mingled with residents.

From Temple Street, the Care-A-Van traveled to UMass Memorial Medical Center’s University Campus to distribute Smiley Ball and Woofster the WonderDog plushies to young patients. In partnership with UMass Memorial, the WooSox Foundation spread some holiday joy with everyone they encountered.

After visiting UMass Memorial, Rosier talked about how the stop put everything into perspective.

“There’s people that are legitimately fighting for their lives,” he said. “Just to see how happy they are to see us show up and give back, it’s really cool.”

Taking a break from the cold, the Holiday Caravan made its way back to Polar Park for the fourth annual WooSox Holiday Luncheon. The club hosted about 70 third grade students from Vernon Hill Elementary School and treated them to a holiday meal in Polar Park’s DCU Club. WooSox and WooSox Foundation President Dr. Charles Steinberg even performed a private concert for the students, which featured the Central MASScots.

After lunch, the WooSox Foundation took a trip down the road to visit children from the Central Community Branch YMCA on Main Street. Rosier and the Dreammakers teamed up and played games of basketball and Knockout against a very talented squad of YMCA players.

Wrapping up Day 1 of the Holiday Caravan, the foundation visited the McAuley Nazareth Home for Boys in Leicester. Rosier passed out holiday presents to the home’s residents and chatted with players from one of Double Play Sports’ Jr. WooSox teams, who were also in attendance.

The next morning on Thursday, Dec. 12, the Care-A-Van stopped by Vernon Hill Elementary School to stock the newest Juniper Outreach Foundation food pantry. The WooSox Foundation’s contribution was the first official donation for the newest of Juniper’s six total pantries throughout the community.

After Vernon Hill, the Care-A-Van traveled to the South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) on Queen Street with the Greater Worcester Housing Connection to deliver more than 120 hygiene kits. The kits—which contained men’s and women’s variations with socks, underwear, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, and toothbrushes—were packed with assistance from the 10U Jr. WooSox team earlier in the week.

Later in the day, the Care-A-Van drove in a holiday parade that ended at Why Me & Sherry’s House on Pleasant Street. Rosier and the Dreammakers hand-delivered “Kits for Kids,” homemade packages made by the Kits for Kids nonprofit organization, filled with stuffed animals and games for children of all ages in need. Woofster and Clara were joined by many of their friends in the community, like Jake the Lion (Worcester Bravehearts) and Trax the Railyard Dog (Worcester Railers).

To conclude Day 2 of the Holiday Caravan, the foundation welcomed City Councilman Luis Ojeda and TLK Sports to Polar Park for batting practice in the newly renovated WooCages. Children and adults alike had the opportunity to take some swings off a major league pitching machine and get some one-on-one pointers from Rosier himself.

The third and final day of the Holiday Caravan on Friday, Dec. 13, brought the Care-A-Van to Abby’s House on High Street. Dreammakers carried in laundry baskets full of personal care items and cleaning products for Abby House’s residents.

Next, the crew visited Kiva Centers—a peer-run, trauma-informed, community healing center in downtown Worcester—to drop off WooSox merchandise and chat with its members.

The final stops on the 2024 Holiday Caravan took the foundation to each of the six schools attended by our WooSox Scholars: North High School, South High School, Burncoat High School, Doherty Memorial High School, University Park Campus School, and Worcester Technical High School. WooSox Foundation representatives, including WooSox Manager of Community Relations and the WooSox Foundation Emerson White, dropped off t-shirts and gift bags to all 16 of the WooSox Scholars at their respective institutions.

“The Holiday Caravan is one of our favorite events of the year,” White said. “It was great being joined by Corey Rosier, Rich Gedman, and our WooSox Foundation Dreammakers this year. Seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter makes it clear just how much of an impact we’re making. It’s amazing to be part of something so special and help spread holiday cheer across Worcester.”

With 17 destinations on the itinerary in 2024, the fourth annual WooSox Foundation Holiday Caravan delivered food, clothing, gifts, toys, and joy all over the greater Worcester community. Rosier, who took a break from offseason training in North Carolina to partake in the Caravan, marveled in how special it was to be a part of the WooSox Foundation’s impact and see its effects firsthand.

“To go out into the community and do little things and give back, it was really cool,” he said. “People were always excited to see us––especially the mascots. They get really fired up about them. It’s really cool to see how happy people are to see us show up somewhere.”