The Family Pantry Serving all of Cape Cod April 2011 Newsletter _________________________________________________ Think Spring:                   As most businesses are starting their busy season we are finishing up our busy season which starts in the Fall, reaches great heights in November and December and then quiets down a bit during the summer when more people can find work whether it is their only job or a second job to help make ends meet. In 2010 we provided food to a total of 3,084 households which included 7,923 people and 3,101 of them were children. Conservatively calculated we provided a total of 31,927 bags of food to people. Holiday programs : We had an incredibly successful Thanksgiving program and provided over 700 turkeys to families of three or more. Brax Landing continued their wonderfully generous tradition of serving a complete Thanksgiving meal to anyone who wanted to come and we referred individuals and families of two people to Brax.  At Christmas we gave out another 200 turkeys and provided toys to 740 children under age 14. We were very fortunate to have the continued support of Glenn & Rebecca Armbruster (Ron’s son and daughter-in-law) who funded the purchase of 50 beautiful name brand bicycles with safety helmets. We also received wonderful toys from Holy Trinity Church Parishioners, the Cape Cod Corvette Club and The Marines Toys for Tots program.  We also received wonderful hand knitted hats, gloves, scarves and sweaters from the Knit Lit Group at Brooks Free Library, the Orleans Council on Aging, the Harwich Port Library & the Yummy Shop.  Many people support this program financially including the Cape Cod Chronicle’s Neighbor Helping Neighbor drive which has grown exponentially over the past five years and the Garden Club of Harwich who has helped fund presents for our teenage boys for many years.  The toy program was an incredible success thanks to the many volunteers who donate additional time at this busy time of year. So a huge thank you to all of you who helped by: signing children up for the program, shopping, picking up, sorting & organizing the toys and clothing, moving pallets, tables and anything else that needed moving, working on toy day helping the distribution. Like the Oscars there are always a few people who have to be mentioned by name and those two people are Jeanette Lynch & Joyce Simonis, the masterminds who coordinate the toy program. It is a wild time because everything happens in a short 3 to 4 week timeframe and Jeanette & Joyce do an outstanding job getting it all done and making it look so easy to the rest of us!   New Volunteers: Please join me in welcoming our newest volunteers. We are glad to have your help! Luz Arregoces, Paula Avery, Warren & Kayla Bateman, Ruth Berger, Elise Costa, Elaine Dickinson, Paul Fiset, Barbara Flechtner, Maureen Gertzberger, Jackie Halligan, Beth Herman, Matt Hirtle, Kathy Kellog, Kathy Kenyon, Brian Keyes, Cal Livingston, Dorothy Loftus, Andrea Love, Rod Moore, Judi Mozzer, Kathleen Muller, Carol Nolan, Hope Our-Cleary, Kathy Preston, Julia Quinn, Gail Robinson, Marty Rowe, Arlene & Bruce Ryan, Marty Stiles, Mary & Jim Tenney, Lisa White, Gigi Wilson, Sue Young. Garden: You have probably noticed a lot of activity in the back of the pantry. We are very fortunate to have tremendous support from the Town of Harwich and the community in establishing a new and much larger vegetable garden for the pantry. The Town has given us a five year renewable license to use their land for the garden and Lincoln Hooper graciously delivered more compost than I know how to count! Robert B. Our Company, The Tree Company and Patrissi Landscaping and their employees have donated countless hours and the use of their equipment to clear the trees and grade the area. The following companies have also donated materials and labor to help us establish a garden to provide vegetables & fruits to our clients: Childs Excavating, Profence, The Farm, Mark Coleman & Sons, Crowell Construction, Aggregate Industries, Cape Cod Ready Mix and Agway.   Citizens Bank Grant: The Family Pantry is Citizens Bank’s Champion in Action honoree for the 2nd quarter of 2011!!! Yea Us!!!! What this includes is a $25K grant, a lot of publicity on NECN, and a poster and glossy brochures about us at every Citizens Bank in Massachusetts. The grant was written to fund items needed for our garden. You can see the video on our website or NECN’s.   Great gift idea: The Family Pantry Cookbook: Tired of bringing a bottle of wine as a hostess gift? Why not bring a Family Pantry cookbook full of wonderful recipes from our volunteers and the local business community. The cookbook is on sale at the pantry as well as at Annie’s Book Store in Orleans, Cape Cup in Orleans, Second Glance Thrift Shop in Harwich Port, The Potted Geranium in West Harwich and the Red Cottage Restaurant in Dennis. Maisie Wall has done an incredible job with this project.   Service Anniversary Recognition Luncheon: The Wayside Inn provided an exquisite luncheon to celebrate the many years of service several volunteers have provided to the pantry. It took us almost a year (and that is the royal we since Elaine McCarty did all the work!) to collect the start date for all 230 of our volunteers. The Board of Directors decided to have a luncheon to honor all volunteers who have completed 5, 10, 15 or 20 years of service. Since this was our first we included anyone who had five or more years service by December 31, 2010.  We were thrilled to have many of our trustees join us including Father Gabriel Healy & Bob Murray who were founders of the pantry. Other trustees included Paul Covell, Sheriff Jim Cummings, Elizabeth Dolan and Shirley Gomes.  The honorees (not all were able to attend) included: 21 years: Denny, Elizabeth & Brian Duggan, Bob & Joanne Greene, Helen Marsden, George & Mary Morris, Gene & Joan Kirk, Mary McDonald & Joan Shea. 20 years: Mary Eagan 19 years: Mary Sullivan & Carol Ann Gallo 18 years: Buddy Curran & Mary Remillard 17 years: Claire & Joe Coppolla, Ruth Soles & Barbara Tessier 16 years: Rosemary Schreiner & Julie Royes 15 years: Judy Olson 14 years: Claudia Crockett, Susan Delahunt, Marie Hayes, Charlie Tobin, Anne & Pete Watson, Joe Redmond, Frank Hynes, Tom Plunkett 13 years: Jeanette Lynch, Paul Gallagher & Jo Molnar 12 years: Dot Eddy, Nancy & Al McCarter, Jack & Claire Ferrie, Rose Marie Maloney, Alice Saudade, Dorsi Tately, & Ken Murray 11 years: Joan Corbett Lucille Donnelly, Mary Larkin, Bridget & Peter O’Rourke & Denise King 10 years: Theresa Lynch, Joe McParland, & Jo Rochelle 9 years: Anne Kavanaugh, Jane Mac-Afee 8 years: Sue & Tom Granai, Agnes Hall, Mary Kocot & Rich Graveline 7 years: Jan Bowers, Kay & Ray Sacramone & Don Clark 6 years: Judith Chamberlain, Diane Wadworth, Art Graham, David Mahan, Anne Hayes, Mary Ann Ryer, Leo Dunphy, Peg Donovan, Duncan Roberts, Joyce Simonis, Rom Armbruster, Carole Davis, Herb King 5 years: Jean Clegg, Paulette Gutt, Stephanie Hamilton, Cynthia Hurley, Gladwyn Kelley, Denise Leonard, Steve Novak, Susan Perkins, Barbara Wilson, Jim Bousquet, Neal Crampton, Ann Haley, John Quinn, Joan Smith & Virginia Boehlke.  We did accidentally miss one person and I am ashamed to say it was our volunteer of the year in 2008, Rich Graveline so Rich will be doubly honored next year. Please let us know if we missed anyone else. Second Glance Thrift Shop: Open Tuesday – Saturday 10-4 located at 4 Cross Street Harwich Port        This is a great time to drop in & see what great values we have. We are also always looking for some high quality items for the shop. So if you are cleaning out closets think of us. We welcome clothing, jewelry, books, and small household treasures which must be brought to the pantry because space is very limited at the shop. Soon we will also be open Mondays for the summer season.  Bag A Month Ambassadors: This program was started five years ago with a goal of finding 100 Ambassadors who would contribute $25 a month which is the estimated value of a bag of groceries. We provide bills monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually via email or US Mail. Donations may also be made online through our website using a paypal account or credit card. So whichever method the donor prefers we will make it work! Two years ago we met our initial goal of 100 Ambassadors and are now looking to add another 100 by 2013! We are on our way to that goal with approximately 165 Bag A Month Ambassadors active in the program. If you are interested please contact us or just send your first donation with a note that it is for the Bag a Month Ambassador program.   Warehouse Supervisor: Welcome Please join me in welcoming Bill Baldwin to The Family Pantry. Bill’s experience as a business owner, on town committees and with the Harwich Conservation Trust and Cranberry Valley Golf Course make him a great addition to the pantry staff. We are fortunate to have Bill join us to manage warehouse activities and the facility.   Donations: We welcome donations of any amount and are grateful for the support. We can receive gifts of stocks as well as checks and cash. Donations can be made online on our website www.thefamilypantry.com or by sending a check to us in the mail. Many people choose to donate to The Family Pantry in someone else’s memory or honor. In addition to sending a thank you letter to the donor we also send a note to the honoree or his or her family notifying them that the donation was made. Please also consider a bequest to The Family Pantry when making your estate plans. Contact us at: The Family Pantry 133 Queen Anne Rd. Harwich, Ma. 02645 Tel 508 432-6519 Fax. 508 432-7083  www.thefamilypantry.com Email: manderson@thefamilypantry.com pwatson@thefamilypantry.com

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