Raising funds, good times for 3 decades

Cheers gala helps several groups

Shane Shannon, 5, of Dedham, donated to Globe Santa Saturday in Harvard Square. (Taslim Sidi for the Boston Globe)

Having been the chief organizer for nearly three decades of an event to help children at Christmas, Eddie Doyle knows all too well how frantic the few days before the fund-raiser can be.

"It's basically been 24/7 for the last week," Doyle said Sunday. "The ride is fun and it's always rewarding, but you still have to work hard to survive."

The 29th annual "Cheers for Children" holiday gala and auction will be held tomorrow night at the Hampshire House on Beacon Street, thus continuing for another year a Boston tradition that helps usher in the holiday season on a charitable note.

Cheers for Children raises money annually for Globe Santa, The Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care, The Jimmy Fund, and Friends of Floating Hospital for Children. The organization will also make a special donation this year to The Massachusetts' Soldiers Legacy Fund.

After getting its start in 1980 when former Bull and Finch Pub bartender Eddie Doyle and then-manager John Grasso reacted to a Globe Santa story by throwing an impromptu party that raised $570, the Cheers group in 2004 surpassed the million-dollar mark in total monies raised over the years.

The 2008 gala will have as its centerpiece a dynamic silent auction. Similar to last season's event, the fund-raiser will feature a more open format that forgoes the live auction to allow guests the time and space to walk through all three floors of the historic site.

As the party's popularity has grown over the years, attracting hundreds of revelers ready to open their wallets for families and their children, organizers have adjusted accordingly so that attendees have all the time they need to view the vast number of items donated to the cause.

"Thank God for all the volunteers that help make this possible given how much it's grown," Doyle said. "Especially the chair committee that spent a lot of hours working through ideas to make it a better event for everyone."

There will be celebrity-manned bars throughout the evening, with mixologists including former Red Sox manager Joe Morgan, 1976 American League Rookie of the Year pitcher Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, WBZ4 News chief political analyst John Henning, radio voice of the Red Sox Joe Castiglione, Joe Piantedosi Jr., owner of the nearly century-old Piantedosi Baking Co., and Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy.

Many of the well-known players have been part of the event for as long as a decade and remain eager to participate despite their busy schedules.

"Mark Fidrych is the first guy that calls every year," Doyle said. "And Dan Shaughnessy has to cover the Celtics Wednesday night but said he'd stop by before the game to pitch in."

Notable items being offered in the auction (some of which can be viewed at www.cheersforchildren.org) include a framed photo of Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia signed by the 2008 American League Most Valuable Player and 2007 Rookie of the Year, a week's vacation in Las Vegas, a Patriots game package, golf outings at The Country Club in Brookline and on Martha's Vineyard, and Bruins and Celtics tickets.