Photographs by Tom Hall (above) and Kathy GeraghtyHanover Rotary Club members Kathy Geraghty and Bill Garfield, above, and Dick Booma, below, ring the bells to raise money for Listen in downtown Hanover last week.
Photographs by Tom Hall (above) and Kathy GeraghtyHanover Rotary Club members Kathy Geraghty and Bill Garfield, above, and Dick Booma, below, ring the bells to raise money for Listen in downtown Hanover last week. Credit: Photographs by Tom Hall (above) and Kathy Geraghty

Hanover — Every December, the Hanover Rotary Club takes to the streets.

The service organization dedicates much of its time to projects designed to benefit residents of the Upper Valley and beyond. In that spirit, the darkest month of the year finds members in downtown Hanover, collecting donations for Listen Community Services.

“We have about 60 Rotarians who ring a total of 22 days for about 140 hours,” Rotary Club member and Hanover Town Manager Julia Griffin said in an email. “Every penny collected goes to (Listen).”

The club has been ringing sleigh bells for Listen for more than a decade, raising about $7,000 a year.

Originally they had rung for the Salvation Army, which then routed the funds to the Lebanon-based nonprofit, minus about 20 percent for its overhead, Griffin said. “So, we decided to ring and donate directly.”

The bell ringing will continue through Christmas Eve.

— Aimee Caruso