Canton ‘Cocktails for a Cause’ group growing by the month

Four years ago, before her youngest son went off to college, Canton resident Cheryl Conroy asked a group of moms — friends she’d made from her son’s hockey and lacrosse teams — to get together once a month for a social gathering.

“My beginning intentions were a little selfish,” Conroy said. “I didn’t want to lose this great social network I had found.”

The first month, 13 women showed up for a Friday night of appetizers, beverages (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and most importantly, good conversation. Each of the women wrote a $25 check for the Canton Food Pantry, an idea Conroy came up with after reading an article in the Boston Globe about a similar group of women from Hingham and Hull.

This meeting marked the beginning of “Cocktails for a Cause.” Four years later, the group, which meets nine times a year (once a month, except for July, August and December), has held 37 events, supported 23 causes, and raised $35,566. In the first two years, Conroy said the social gatherings would include 20 or 30 women.

“The group has really mushroomed over the past four years,” Conroy said. “Now, most events draw between 30 and 60 women.”

Despite the group’s growth, the concept is still the same. Each month a different woman signs up to host the event at her home on a designated Friday at 7:30 p.m. The hostess provides appetizers to the guests and picks the cause the group fundraises for. With the group’s popularity, Conroy said she’s already booked with events until next May.

Two weeks before the event, Conroy sends an e-mail to the group with a flyer reminding them of the location and cause.

“The great thing is you don’t need to know the host,” Conroy said. “I always write that people are welcome to bring a friend or two at the end of each flyer.”

The group has supported a variety of charities and causes, including regulars like the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer each March, the All Night Graduation Party each April, and Christmas in the City each November.

June’s cause is “Paint the Town Green,” an event hosted by Pam Gaughan and Kate Merrigan. The initiative was started a few months ago in an effort to promote the greening of Canton through gardens and conservation.

This is the group’s first fundraiser. As a new organization, the group’s members don’t have any definitive plans about what projects they would like to undertake, but will decide on feasible options after knowing how much funding they receive from the Cocktails for a Cause fundraiser.

Unlike other Cocktails for a Cause gatherings, this month’s event will occur in the Merrigan family garden on June 11, the perfect setting for an organization that will attempt to spread greening and conservation ideas throughout Canton.

If you’d like to attend this event or any future Cocktails for a Cause gatherings, e-mail Cheryl Conroy at cherylc125@comcast.net.

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Posted by Jeffrey Pickette on Jun 10 2010. Filed under Features, News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.