Elizabeth Hogan, Photo Provided
St. Louis Christmas Carols Association
At the St. Louis Christmas Carols Association (StLCCA), it’s Christmas all year round — even in July.
For more than 110 years, the StLCCA has centered its efforts around fundraising for St. Louis children throughout the fourth quarter of the year, preparing for the holiday season six months in advance. In previous years, the organization has gone caroling in July, hosted telethons, and even recorded traditional Celtic Christmas tunes.
This Christmas season, the StLCCA is encouraging people to reach out to the ones they love who they can’t share a holiday meal with, or remind their friend from out of state how much they love them, all while making a difference in a child’s life.
The StLCCA launched its virtual “Caroling Telegram” giving campaign in 2020 to safely spread holiday cheer through Christmas classics while also supporting St. Louis youth throughout the pandemic.
Elizabeth Hogan joined the organization as executive director in July. Her background as a music teacher and passion for service made working for StLCCA feel like “a dream job” where she’s able to spread cheer while contributing to her community.
Hogan quickly learned about the association’s Christmas telegram fundraiser, which Lynn O’Brien, creative consultant at StLCCA, pitched and helped bring to fruition last year.
“Caroling telegrams were a brainchild of Lynn O'Brien’s,” Hogan says. “She came into the organization right in the middle of the pandemic when they realized caroling wasn't going to be possible in 2020 because of safety. She was kind of tasked with pivoting quickly, and she came up with this idea of a virtual telegram.”
With a donation to the association, donors can select from several Virtual Caroling Telegrams to be delivered via email on Christmas Eve to whomever they choose. All proceeds from donations will go to the 28 non-profit agencies StLCCA has partnered with for the fundraiser, including Girls on the Run, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, and Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri.
The association began accepting applications from non-profits throughout the St. Louis region in September for the coming Christmas season. Hogan said some qualifications are the organization must be a non-profit, has to work with children, and show it is directly supporting kids.
“We do have a couple of stipulations,” Hogan says. “They're not supposed to use the money for staffing, they're supposed to use the money to directly impact programs that serve the kids in our region. That can be anything from providing families with diapers and formula and food or clothing, medical supplies, and games.”
In StLCCA’s 110-year history of caroling for a cause, hundreds of community caroling volunteers who perform throughout the region have helped StLCCA collect funds, and the association has raised more than $3 million for the cause so far.
“It is so heartwarming to think about giving back to this community where I have lived for 17 years,” Hogan says. “We have people in our organization who've been caroling with us for 50-plus years. I get calls every day from people who want to tell me about their history and how they remember going out as kids or their families went out together, and that's become a tradition for them.”
This year, StLCCA will continue its focus on public health and safety by once again offering Virtual Caroling Telegrams from local singers and public figures including The Lesters, Kingsbury Place Singers, and Louie of the St. Louis Blues. Two new virtual telegrams are also available for donors to choose from this season, including one created in partnership with the Red and Black Brass Band.
Courtesy of The St. Louis Christmas Carols Association
The Red and Black Brass Band performs "This Christmas" for their Virtual Caroling Telegram.
“I had experienced the Red and Black Brass Band in various neighborhoods around St. Louis during the pandemic,” Hogan says. “As a musician, I was overwhelmed by the way that they were able to bring music at a time where we felt really isolated as musicians. We were compelled by the way they brought the community together in each of the neighborhoods they visited. Immediately, we felt like their mission and ours were really compatible.”
StLCCA reached out to the band through social media, and the band got back to them with a few carol suggestions. In the end, they settled on Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas.”
“The original performer of that song is actually a St. Louisan as well, so it's such an incredible idea that they brought to the collaboration that they wanted to perform that song on their telegram,” Hogan says. “We asked them to record themselves performing at one of their events or one of their rehearsals. They chose to do it at a rehearsal and sent us just a great video.”
Telegrams can be ordered online, and a minimum donation of $10 is suggested. All orders must be in by December 22, and emails will go out to all recipients Christmas Eve. All proceeds go to the StLCCA's partner charities.
“The combination of helping young people in our area and also seeing the joy that people get themselves just from being in community with one another, connecting with their neighbors, connecting with their family and friends — the combination of how it serves everyone is really compelling,” Hogan says. “I love that about the organization.”
