Volunteers stand outside the SHARE Fund location in Rochester after the inaugural Thanksgiving Distribution event the Saturday before Thanksgiving. From left, Elizabeth Watson, Salvation Army of Rochester, Silas Garcia, Community Action Partnership of Strafford County, Jamie Blanchette, Salvation Army of Rochester, Jamie Swan, Community Action Partnership of Strafford County, Sara Smith, Grace Community Church, Jolene Whitehead, MVSB Branch & Business Development Manager, Allison Bussiere, Seacoast Food Provides Network, Natalie Watt, New Hampshire Food Bank, Lisa Fernald, SHARE Fund, and Donald “Skip” Smith, SHARE Fund.
More than 1,000 families were welcomed by a nearly 70 volunteers ready to distribute holiday meal essentials the Saturday before Thanksgiving at the SHARE Fund location in Rochester. From 9 am to noon, community members made their way through a line to pick up everything from canned corn and stuffing to frozen turkeys to prepare a home-cooked meal.
Four Strafford County nonprofits – Community Action Partnership of Strafford County, The Salvation Army of Rochester, SHARE Fund and Grace Community Church – partnered together to host this inaugural event. In the months ahead of the event, the organizations held a number of food drives and collaborated with local businesses and the NH Food Bank to ensure they had sufficient supply to meet the increased community demand for meals this year.
As supporters of the efforts, we agreed to match monetary donations received. In total, the organizations raised nearly $5000 and, to support the overwhelming need, MVSB exceeded their match with an additional $15,000. The Bank also provided reusable shopping bags and employees volunteered at the event. On the day of the event, Rt. 11 Pit Stop and Crumbl Cookies in Rochester donated lunch and treats for volunteers.
“It was incredible to work closely with these other nonprofits and MVSB to pool our resources to support the community and help address food insecurity during the holidays,” said Donald “Skip” Smith, SHARE Fund Executive Director. “We had more people sign up before the event than originally anticipated when we started planning, but thanks to the great turnout of volunteers and the volume of meal essentials we were able to collect, not a single person was turned away. The success of this heart-warming event was certainly due to caring individuals who wanted nothing more than to help see our communities thrive. Hopefully we can keep that momentum going next year.”
“We were so proud to play a part in this collaboration, which truly maximized the impact of the Thanksgiving programs in our communities and spread so much goodwill through the holiday season,” said Jolene Whitehead, MVSB Branch & Business Development in Rochester. “It was inspiring to see these local organizations and community volunteers come together to take care of their neighbors.”
Go to straffordcap.org/straffordneighbors2023 to learn more.
