The Family Pantry of Cape Cod   November 2011 newsletter Thanksgiving at the pantry was as wild as ever.  We gave out about 600 turkeys with all the fixings and we are grateful to everyone who helped us with this program including The Allen Harbor Yacht Club, The Chatham Wayside Inn, Holy Trinity 5th Grade Class, Dennis Yarmouth High School Students. Harwich Alternative Education Students and Harwich High School Students. So what is next? Toys of course! Each year we provide toys to  children ages 14 and younger whose parents are clients at the pantry.  We are fortunate to have many people helping us with this huge endeavor! The Cape Cod Corvette Club has already scheduled their collection and delivery of toys to us and the Marines Toys for Tots has always helped us. This year the Harwich Chamber of Commerce's Chrismas in Harwich Committee is also assisting us and has the following drop off spots: Benson Young & Downes Insurance, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank (Harwich Port, East Harwich and Patriot Square), Commonwealth Associates, The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod and Second Glance, our upscale thrift shop.  The above picture is Lisa Griffin and her family who have a family tradition of giving gifts to the pantry. Lisa is an incredible shoper, finds the very best bargains and has just delivered two truckloads full of toys and clothing for our gift program.  Gifts should be new and unwrapped and we are looking for items in the $15-$20 range if possible.  Some suggested items are sports memorabilia (Patriots, Bruins Celtics and yes even Red Sox) sweatshirts, t shirts, hats etc), gift cards to Best Buy or the Simon Mall, Aeropostale clothing items (very inexpensive online am told) and the new game that is all the rage called Hedbanz.  As an English major the spelling of that game makes me wince but I can attest it was a great hit at Thanksgiving for all ages including my niece's 4 year old son, Lou and his great-parents (my parents) who ages are only given out on a need to know basis.                 Volunteers   We are always looking for volunteers and would love to hear from anyone who has a few  hours to spare. Patty Watson, the Assistant Director, does an excellent job matching people's interests and skills with our openings. We do accommodate snow birds and those who can work the off season but need the summer off. We have a huge calendar to track volunteers comings and goings and we are very flexible. We have several jobs in the following areas: Food distribution area helping clients with food choices  Clothing boutique sorting and displaying clothing & helping clients with selections  Warehouse receiving food, storage and stocking shelves Recycling center - sorting and packaging  for redemption Computer work Thrift shop - steaming, ironing, pricing, arranging the stock Garden - planners right now but working gardeners in season  In addition we are looking for someone with managerial skills to be the Team Leader for our Tuesday afternoon shift.   We have a great team of 300 plus volunteers and they are lots of fun so I am sure you would enjoy joining us!   Contact Patty via pwatson@thefamilypantry.com or 508-432-6519 on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday         You can give $100 to the pantry without it costing you anything!!   We just received word from TD Bank that we will be receiving $7771.00 in the next few weeks as part of TD Bank's Affinity Program based on the 70 TD Bank customers who have chosen The Family Pantry of Cape Cod as their affinity organization. We would like to double that for next year and you can help us by joining this program today.    Here's How it works:   If you already have a TD Bank account, just visit your local office and any Customer Service Representative will have your account linked to The Family Pantry's affinity program. If you do not have an account at TD Bank, please consider doing so and know that by banking at TD Bank you are helping feed 950 families each month and it doesn't cost you anything!              We're thrilled with the ease of participating in this program and there is no cost to our organization or to anyone who participates on our behalf!   TD Bank will contribute a percentage of the annual balance in every one of their customers who chooses to affiliate with us. Checking, savings, money markets, CDs and retirement accounts are all included.  And there is no limit on the amount of our potential contribution.Please note that this is TD Bank's money not yours!   Please contact Mary Anderson at the pantry or any customer Service Representative at any TD Bank with any questions you may have. Thank you for your continued support of The Family Pantry and for considering this request.                 Sincerely,   Mary Anderson   Executive Director The Family Pantry of Cape Cod 133 Queen Anne Road Harwich, MA 02645 508-432-6519 manderson@thefamilypantry.com            

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