Sweetwaters Cares

Sweetwaters takes great pride in our community and our support of local nonprofit organizations.

Sweetwaters has been the host for our community’s most celebrated dinner. Our Thanksgiving Day gathering has become a cherished tradition for many volunteers and guests. We are proud to be celebrating our 28th year welcoming guests in for a traditional holiday meal,  great conversation, and good laughs. For the past two-plus decades, Sweetwaters has opened our doors to anyone who would like to join us for dinner on Thanksgiving Day. We begin serving at 10 am and look forward to seeing both familiar and new faces each year. Many guests are in need financially, some are students who can’t get home for the holidays and others have recently lost family members and friends. A common purpose amongst everyone, including volunteers, is the feeling of togetherness and community. Sweetwaters gets over 100 volunteers throughout the day who serve, cook and clean. Many of them have been volunteering for years, and now do so with their kids and other family members. Many volunteers include those who have joined us in the past for dinner and remember how it feels to be in need and desire to give back. The day starts off with a coat drive. Last year, people started lining up at 8:00 am and in 1½ hours we gave away 1000 coats. We are no longer accepting names for volunteers. Please note that there is an overwhelming response to help so space is limited and goes fast.

How can you still help? We are always looking for baked goods such as pies, cookies, and cakes. We like to send those in need home with these additional food items. Starting Monday before Thanksgiving right up until Thanksgiving morning we'll be accepting dessert donations at Sweetwaters. 

Thanksgiving day starts off with a coat give away at Sweetwaters. Each year we give away over 1000 winter jackets. We are also always looking for larger sizes of warm coats for our coat drive. Please drop off your clean winter coats at the Windjammer/Best Western Hotel on Williston Rd prior to Monday the 20th. After the 20th, coats can be dropped off directly at Sweetwaters. We are always short on warm, extra large sizes. 

In addition to the above, we support hundreds of other local nonprofit organizations. If you would like to request a donation from Sweetwaters please contact us.

Please include the following information in your email:

• What is your organizations name, mission and website?
• What you would like us to donate?
• Whether or not your organization has 501©(3) status.
• How we can contact you with further questions?
• The date, name and venue of the specific event? (*Requests must be submitted a minimum of 4 weeks in advance of the event.)

We love our hometown, and giving back to our community is just how we do business. We can’t imagine it any other way. From buying local ingredients, to donating meals each month to the Burlington Emergency Shelf, we take pride in caring for our neighbors.