In a time when national headlines cited low food pantry supplies and lagging holiday retail sales, Care & Share of East Lyme, Inc. volunteers report continued generosity in the community.
“Beginning with preparation for delivery of Thanksgiving food baskets, and continuing right through the Christmas and Chanukah holidays,” said Care & Share president Barb Buzzelli, “the community traditionally demonstrates its gift-giving spirit, providing armloads of donations, and hours and hours of volunteer support. But this year, in a time when we worried that levels of assistance might reflect the declining economy, we were constantly surprised—and delighted—by all that everyone has done. Such care and help from so many truly reflects the giving spirit for which this community has always been known.”
Care & Share was founded nearly 20 years ago in 1989 by four women who provided Thanksgiving food baskets to eight local families. This year, the non-profit all-volunteer organization assisted 154 East Lyme/Niantic and Salem families, including more than 400 individuals, through its holiday food basket program and holiday store, wrapping up a year of other Care & Share assistance programs as emergency assistance, general food deliveries, scholarships, and camperships.
The wave of holiday giving started in October when numerous church and school groups ran pre-holiday food drives to fill the pantry’s shelves for the winter season. Then in November, Food Pantry co-chairs Jim and Carol Indorato noticed an influx of people stopping by the 11 Hope Street food pantry behind the Niantic Cinemas to ask what was needed for the Thanksgiving holiday before returning with desired items. Help came from schools, churches, civic organizations, retailers and businesses, neighborhood organizations, and families and individuals of all ages.
In addition to the countless donations of food left at the pantry by anonymous individuals and families, numerous contributions came from local scouts, the schools, the high school Key Club, and the high school Honor Society, as well as local churches and organizations, including the Lions, the Leos, the Rotary Club, and the Muffin Men. The East Lyme High School Student Senate donated $600 worth of gift cards and movie tickets, and one enterprising student and her parents took the initiative to stand outside of Stop & Shop and hand out flyers listing Food Pantry needs to shoppers going into the store. Thanks to such endeavors and generosity, more than 83 food baskets were packed and delivered on Dec. 20, despite the snow.
Each year, the Lions and the LEOs join with Care & Share in the food basket program, bringing fresh produce, milk, eggs, and more on the morning of delivery and take responsibility for 40 of the 99 baskets.
Thanks to the generosity of the Mitchell Trust, this year’s Holiday Store was set up at 17 Hope Street, and within days of its opening as Care & Share’s gift donation collection site, it began to fill with warm coats and blankets along with gift items to be boxed and wrapped for more than 100 clients. The Boy Scouts in Salem made Care & Share the main recipient of their toy drive this year, and one giant stuffed teddy bear, perched atop a rack of jackets, was so popular it was earmarked for a client drawing to make certain all had an equal chance to bring it home.
Although most of the items displayed at the Holiday Store are matched with the needs and wishes of Care & Share client families and individuals, the racks of gently used warm coats and outer wear are also made available to any area resident who may be in need. Coats and jackets will continue to be available in the coming month as long as supplies last. Anyone interested in receiving a coat or jacket should call Care & Share at 739-8502 to arrange for someone to meet them at the Hope Street store.
Although all the names of supporters and fundraisers are too many to mention, three of special note were the annual Care & Share Benefit Evening of hors d’oeuvres and a wine tasting, sponsored by Carmine’s in cooperation with Constantine’s; Holdridge’s “Weekend of Giving”; and the Smith’s Acres/Mermaid Liquors wine tasting and silent auction, which netted $6,059 for the benefit of Care & Share and its clients.
Press release courtesy of Care & Share.