Santa came early to the Island this weekend, but with a twist: no sleigh or reindeer, just 40 men and women on motorcycles. And old St. Nick himself.

The annual Red Stocking Fund Run hosted by the Martha’s Vineyard Harley Riders club takes place Sunday, Nov. 14 beginning at 10 a.m. at the P.A. Club

The Red Stocking Fund is now accepting applications for gifts for the upcoming holiday season.

Since 1938, the Red Stocking Fund has provided Island children in need with gifts for the holiday season. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Susie Wallo and Sandy Joyce, who head the fund, are making sure this year is no different.

The Dukes County Sheriff’s Office is opening an outdoor locker for Red Stocking donations of new, unwrapped toys.

The Martha’s Vineyard Bank Charitable Foundation has awarded $80,500 in grants and donations to 10 nonprofits on Martha's Vineyard and in Falmouth.

The Red Stocking Fund is taking applications from Island families online through Nov. 30.

Red Stocking Fund stalwart Kerry Alley, who has always shunned the spotlight, learned the surprise news on Wednesday that a six-figure fund has been named in his honor.

In 1938 a group of Island women came together to knit six red stockings, fill those stocking with gifts and distribute them to six families in need just in time for Christmas.

Red Stocking applications are available at the following Island locations: public schools, most banks, Health Care Access, Community Services, Island Wide Youth Collaborative, Food Pantry, Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, and M.V. Insurance Agency offices.