Yankee Candle Donates More Than $11,000 from Moat to Dakin Humane Society

SPRINGFIELD — Dakin Humane Society was recently the recipient of a donation that totaled more than $11,000 from Yankee Candle Co. The funds came from coins tossed in Yankee Candle Village’s in-store moat, adjacent to its Bavarian Village, by store visitors between 2019 and June 2025.

The coins were placed in 48 baskets and were trucked from Yankee Candle Village in South Deerfield to Dakin’s Springfield location by Yankee Candle’s Jeff Palmer, Sales and Operations manager, and Ben Ware, Property and Guest Services manager. Ware’s team handled the process of cleaning the moat and removing the coins. Once at Dakin, it took a team of 40 volunteers nearly four weeks to clean and sort the coins into separate denominations and prepare them for bank deposit.

The total value of the coins is still being processed by the bank, which takes additional time, but the preliminary amount indicates a donation of more than $11,000.

The donation has been a longstanding tradition of generosity from Yankee Candle that originated in 1994. The late Mike Kittredge, founder of Yankee Candle, was known by many to be an animal lover and decided the moat money should be directed to Dakin to help support its animals, programs, and services. Each year since, the coins in the moat were collected and brought to Dakin until the COVID pandemic halted the process in 2020.

“At Yankee Candle Village, we believe in giving back to the community that has supported us for so many years,” Palmer said. “It’s a privilege to partner with and support Dakin Humane Society in their mission to care for animals and enrich lives.”

According to Meg Talbert, executive director of Dakin Humane Society. “our valued partnership reflects the similarity found in our work. Yankee Candle creates products that celebrate and enhance home life and family connections. Our work at Dakin involves the creation of families, when people bring pets into loving homes.”

Added Stacey Price, Dakin’s director of Development and Marketing, “we are grateful for Yankee Candle’s ongoing generosity for more than 30 years, and for the many store visitors who tossed their coins into the moat. Their good luck wishes translated to good luck for the animals.”