Holden's 25 Days Of Kindness Grows Into Year-Round Giving

What started by a small-town police chief as a simple idea to spread kindness for 25 days in his community, has turned into a year-round campaign of kindness picked up by the new police chief in honor of his former mentor's memory.

Holden PD 25 Days of Kindness 2026, Holden Police Department via Facebook

The Town of Holden's "25 Days of Kindness" program has kicked into high gear for the holiday season, but since it's inception in 2017 by the late Police Chief Chris Greeley in who passed away in 2023, it has grown, leaps and bounds into a perfect example of the good community members, citizens, civic leaders and business owners can do if they work together to help those in need right where they live.

According to their website, in the almost a decade since they've been participating in this program, the 25 Days of Kindness has performed over a thousand acts of kindness and affected hundreds of Holden residents, both young and old.

"25 Days of Kindness was founded to continue the mission of Chief Greeley, a beloved figure in Holden, Maine, who dedicated his life to serving others. His unwavering commitment to kindness and community inspired us to create an organization that would carry on his legacy after his passing."

"Chief Greeley believed that one small gesture could change a life, and it’s this belief that forms the cornerstone of our organization. Since our inception, we’ve grown into a movement that reaches far beyond Holden, touching hearts across Maine and beyond."

Current Holden Police Chief, Eddie Benjamin, says the program has grown so much, it's become a year-round thing, with the initiative donating food baskets to folks experiencing food insecurity, to filling an oil tank of an elderly person who can't afford to by fuel, to paying mortgages and electrical bills, to making sure local kids get to experience the joy of opening a present from under the Christmas Tree.

What Chief Benjamin says is amazing is that no matter what's going on with the economy around the world, folks in Maine keep stepping up and donating to help their neighbors.

"As you know, oil is so expensive right now, but people are coming forward and they want to help. They have a little bit extra and they want to make sure everybody's covered for the winter...we just had a business owner (he wanted to remain anonymous) he just donated $10,000 and said he wanted us to use this money for elderly people who need heat this winter."

"The Food Pantry in Holden is very, very low on food right now, so I believe we are going to donate $3,000 to buy food and there's a business owner that's going to match that, so that will be $6,000 for the food pantry."

Benjamin says people usually reach out, family members and friends of those in need and let the town know there is a need, and the 25 Days of Kindness steps in to help meet that.

He says there are a number of fundraisers, throughout the year, that folks can get involved with if they'd like to raise money to go towards the program.

Next Wednesday, the Holden PD will host their 2nd Annual "Jail and Bail" event where they local business owners volunteer to go behind bars and ask folks to send the program money to "bail" them out.

On Thursday November 19th, he says Police Officers from Holden, Brewer and Ellsworth will join Rock Steady Boxing (a Parkinson's disease organization) in a workout fundraiser at Titan Athletics in Brewer.

If you'd like to make a donation to Holden's 25 Days Of Kindness campaign by clicking here.