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Laura's Legacy of Love
Laura's Legacy of Love
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603-953-6160

Join us in making a difference for those in need.

Welcome to Our New Page!

Welcome to Our New Page! Welcome to Our New Page! Welcome to Our New Page!

Join us in making a difference for those in need.

Welcome to Our New Page!

Welcome to Our New Page! Welcome to Our New Page! Welcome to Our New Page!

Want To Help During The Holidays?

Help Us Distribute Over 600 Toys for Kids!
Make A Donation Via Zeffy!Make A Donation Via Venmo!

2025 Thanksgiving Baskets

Welcome to Laura's Legacy of Love Annual Thanksgiving Program


2025 Thanksgiving Basket Update

 

  • 87 Thanksgiving Baskets Delivered
  •               》71 Turkey 
  •               》 15 Ham 
  •               》1 Chicken Basket
  • Approx. 1,400 pounds of Turkey, 150 Pounds of Ham & 16 pounds of Chicken
  • Approximately 800 lbs of Potatoes
  • 94 Fresh Pies
  • 85 Jars of Gravy
  • Approximately 450 Cans of Veggies
  • 90 Cans of Cranberry Sauce
  • 85 Fresh Butternut Squash
  • 83 Bags of Carrots 
  • 80 Pounds of Butter
  • 1080 Fresh Rolls
  • 583 Miles Delivering Meals in 27 Communities and 2 States.


We are so thankful to everyone who donated turkeys, other items for the baskets and money to buy more as new requests came in. Receipts for all the items purchased total about $3,650. Thank you to everyone who helped.


This year Harmonee coordinated the deliveries and it went flawless on our end, I am so appreciative. In 4 days alone, Harmonee volunteered about 36 hours on top of school commitments. Julie, Hannah, Isaiah, Wesley and Heather all helped out to complete the program and make it so successful. Emerson, Elias and Blaise all chipped in to make it great. We also love working with the amazing other Non-Profits out there and thank them for their help, especially It Takes a Village 207 who helped with Turkeys and Pies!


Everytime we delivered another basket, it was amazing to see the gratitude amd happiness. The messages and emails make these 7am to 9pm days all worth it!


We are off for 24 hours and spending time as family before we get back to Operation Santa. We have about 57 families waiting on confirmations and will get to them this weekend! 


On behalf of Laura's Legacy of Love ,  Kona Ice of York County and the Cole Family, we hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving with family and friends.


Want to Help Us?? Make a Donation Here  


Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive

Before we lost Laura, Laura gathered food to help local food banks, homeless shelters and domestic violence shelters. We decided in 2021 to keep that legacy going! Since then, we have raised over $5,000, donated over 250 turkeys and tons of foods to help thousands of families have a better Thanksgiving!


 Thank you all who helped donate food to help the York County Shelter Programs 2024 Thanksgiving Baskets! Again, this year we are blown away by the generosity of all of you. Laura is definitely looking down and smiling! 


News Story on First Annual Food Drive for Laura's Legacy of Love - 2021

Watch News Story!

OPERATION SANTA!

    About Operation Santa!

    Operation Santa started in 2020 when Laura Cole wanted to bring happiness to children all over Southern Maine who may not have a chance to receive a Christmas Gift. Laura tragically died in 2021, and we continue this on in her honor.  Since 2020, we have helped about 1500 children in Southern Maine and Southern New Hampshire. In 2024, we were able to help 412 children in residential homes and about 250 in hospitals and shelters. 

    Program Guidelines - New!

    With the increasing amount of applicants and children needing help, we have had to institute some changes to allow us to make sure we get everyone something! Last year, we helped over 600 kids and this year we have had a huge increase in requests.


    Program Guidelines:

    • Children Must Live in York or Cumberland Counties
    • Children Must Be Newborn to Age 17
    • We will ask if you have applied for other assistance and have the right to check to see if you answered it honestly. Last year, we had families get tons of gifts going place to place and it's not fair to other kids. If it is found that the application was incorrectly filled out, you could void your application. 

    2025 OPERATION SANTA APPLICATION - CLICK HERE!Help Us - Amazon Wish list!Help us - walmart wish list!Make A Donation - Zeffymake a donation - venmo

    Community Leader - News Channel 13 Story

    We thank David Eid and WGME 13 and Fox 51 for doing a story and honoring the community work of our Laura. We were honored as their 1st Mainer's Making A Difference.

    Watch News Story!

    About Laura Lynn Cole

    Our Vision

    Laura was a caring individual who always put others before herself. She volunteered as a certified ambulance driver for Lebanon Rescue, where she also coordinated the Operation Santa program for kids and the Annual Lebanon Community Festival. She won many awards for her work including the 2012 Presidential Volunteer Service Award by Barrack Obama, 2013 Responder of the year and many others.  She worked as an Animal Control Officer/Dispatcher for the City of Somersworth Police Department. She grew to love working within companies and helping employees and held various recruiter and human resource positions. She currently served as the People and Culture Advisor for Unispace in Boston, as well as helping with talent acquisition.


    Laura pursued and achieved her dream of becoming a small business owner who could help her community. Laura started her own company, Go FOTO Yourself New England in 2018 where her and her husband would travel all over New England taking wedding photos, corporate event photos, senior pictures, family pictures, and had a photo booth. They loved capturing special memories to last a lifetime. She used the money from her business to help community programs like End 68 Hours of Hunger and helping feed first responders and essential workers during the Covid shutdowns. She did free senior photos and weddings for those who couldn’t afford a photographer. Her hard work, professionalism, and philanthropy earned them the 2019, 2020, and 2021 Best of Weddings in the Knot and the 2019, 2020, and 2021 Couples Choice Award by Wedding Wire. She was also honored to receive the 2019 New Business of the Year for York County, which she was so proud of. To continue her legacy, the family has created a Facebook page called "Laura's Legacy of Love" to continue her acts of kindness. You can find it at  https://www.facebook.com/LaurasLegacyOfLove/ 


    Laura loved anything outdoors. She loved gardening and sharing her beautiful flowers. She loved kayaking and just relaxing at the beach.  She was extremely intelligent and found great pride in learning new things. She had a passion to live every day to its fullest. She didn’t want to sleep, as she felt she could do something to help someone. 


    What Laura loved most was family. She would be the first up in the morning making lunches and doing school clothes for five kids and her husband. She would be the last to go to bed. She would cook five different menus for special events like the Super Bowl or Valentine’s Day to make sure everyone got what they wanted. She always planned the most extravagant parties to show everyone how special they are. She would cook large meals and bring them to family, like her ninety-one-year-old Nana. She even did this the night before her surgery. She adored her pets, including her baby Daisy. 


    Laura and family had just found their dream home in Alfred, Maine where Laura made it so special with handmade crafts and love. She was most excited about her new “She Shed” where she made crafts, sold them, and donated the money to help others. She opened up the new Alfred North Pole to share holiday love with everyone. Hundreds of people came and saw the lights and got goodie bags from Santa. She loved to just see the smiles on kids’ faces, without any recognition. Laura and Jason had a love that many dream of, they were best friends, worked together, and enjoyed life to its fullest. 

    Our Team

    Our team is made up of dedicated volunteers who are passionate about making a difference in our communities. We work tirelessly to ensure that our programs and services are meeting the needs of those we serve.

    Stay in Touch

    Learn more about our upcoming events, fundraisers, and more!

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