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Rewarding those who went above and beyond

Jennie Sparrow | 11/12/2021

Good things can come from bad situations — this is something we recently learned at WeNeedaVacation.com.

After a very long and difficult year, WeNeedaVacation.com wanted to find a way to honor 2020 pandemic first responders and essential workers, so we created the “Who Needs a Vacation?” contest. The winner of the contest was to receive $1500 towards a WeNeedAVacation.com rental of their choice and a basket of local goodies contributed by local businesses: Cabot’s Candy, Snowy Owl Coffee, Grazing Cape Cod, Chatham Candy Manor, Skull Island Adventure, Wish Gift Company, The Cape Cod Bag Company, Snow’s Home and Garden, and Adorn.

Once we announced the contest on our social media channels, we received hundreds of entries describing hardworking medical professionals, dedicated teachers, and essential workers who sacrificed time and energy for their communities.

After the difficult task of narrowing the nominations down to four finalists, we asked our social media followers to vote for who they thought most deserved the grand prize. Among the finalists were Jamie, a teacher; Noressa, a nurse practitioner and mom of three; Christine, a nurse manager; and Deborah, a Gulf War Veteran who assisted other veterans during the pandemic. After counting hundreds of votes, we announced that Deborah was grand prize winner.

While we were elated to award a deserving citizen the grand prize, something amazing and unexpected happened . . . numerous members of our WeNeedaVacation.com homeowner community stepped up and volunteered to donate their homes so that the other three finalists could receive a Cape and Islands vacation as well! The finalists, and the WeNeedaVacation.com family, were deeply moved by this display of kindness and generosity and we are happy to report that all four finalists had a wonderful Cape and Islands vacation! They enjoyed a much-needed respite from the pressures of the pandemic by visiting local beaches and feasting on lobster rolls, and were able to recharge before returning to their communities to continue their amazing work.

Deborah chose property 6919 in Dennis Port.

Deborah (left) grand-prize winner with her partner.

Jamie was awarded a Martha’s Vineyard home in Chilmark at property 15956.

Jamie and her family.

Noressa and her family stayed for a week in Dennis Port at property 33602.

Noressa and her husband.

Christine relaxed for a week in Wellfleet at property 32564.

Christine and her husband.

WeNeedaVacation.com would like to thank our amazing homeowner community, the many local businesses that donated, and all the people who voted and contributed to the success of this contest. While the pandemic was challenging for everyone, it helped us find a way to come together as a community and prove that there is light in darkness, and good in bad situations.