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Donate Now
Donations can be made in honor or in memory of friends and family. Check with your employer to see if they do employee matches!
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________________________ UPCOMING EVENTS: DECEMBER Wednesday, December 12 and Saturday, December 22 Gift wrap for Change Barnes & Noble in Burlington, MA. See article for details. JANUARY On January 16, 2013, Gathering Change Inc., will benefit from 5% Day at Whole Foods in Swampscott! |
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Your Change Makes A Difference
This month GCI will provide funds to the following food pantries:
Acord Food Pantry
(Serves the towns of Hamilton, Ipswich, Wenham, Essex, Topsfield and Manchester-by-the-Sea)
69 Willow Street
Hamilton, MA
Grace Ministries Food Bank
101 Main Street
Saugus, MA 01906
Saugus United Parish Food Pantry
Cliftondale Congregational Church
50 Essex Street
Saugus, MA 01906
Interfaith Social Services
Pantry Shelf
105 Adams Street
Quincy, MA 02169
Winthrop Community Food Pantry
222 Bowdoin Street
Winthrop, MA
Christian Community Service
Food Pantry
North Reading Town Hall
235 North Street
North Reading, MA 01864
Middleton Food Pantry
P.O. Box 855
Middleton, MA 01949
Jewish Family and Children's Service
of the North Shore
Family Table
Swampscott, MA
The Women's Lunch Place
67 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116
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Gathering Change, Inc. Marks Successful 4th Year
 | | A copy of the 2011-2012 Annual Report will be available on our web site shortly. |
On November 19th Gathering Change, Inc., held its Annual Meeting, marking the end of its fourth year. So much of this past year was spent planning the audio/photography exhibit by Michael Nye called "About Hunger and Resilience". Although this event did not fall in this fiscal year, all the work surrounding it did. Our deepest gratitude goes out to Michael Nye and Endicott College especially to Kathleen Moore and Mark Towner for saying yes on the collaboration, to our sponsors and all the board members who gave their time and their talents. Together we brought hunger awareness to Massachusetts in a way that has never been done before.
To all those that work at the food pantry, we are humbled by the work you do, honored to know you all and will continue to work tirelessly to help you keep your shelves stocked. As of this date we have supported over 46 food pantries since 2008. |
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Sponsors
Thank you to our many supporters:
Baubles Fine Jewelry, Lynnfield
The Book Oasis, Stoneham
Century 21, Wakefield
Christine's Cafe & Confections, Lynnfield
City Cycle, Stoneham
Cranney Home Services
Dr. Bruce Goldman, DDS, Saugus
D'Amicis, Wakefield
Deborah Capuano's Holistic Massage & Health Therapies
Ernst & Young
Falcon Global Edge, Boston
IBM
John Hancock
Liberty Mutual
Louise's Skin Care, Lynnfield
LoConte Painting
Lynnfield Teachers Association
Madison Ave. of Melrose
Mary Briggs Physical Therapy
Melaleuca
Microsoft
Mobil Gas, Post Office Square, Lynnfield
Moderno Salon, Melrose
Natural Food Exchange, Reading
Nokia
Pawtucket Red Sox
Pinnacle Private Wealth, Woburn
Rada Boutique
Rich DelRossi
SalemFive Charitable Foundation
Saugusbank
The Savings Bank
Lou Schwechheimer of the Pawtucket Red Sox
Second Congregational UCC, Beverly
Silver Clay, Wakefield
Stop and Shop Supermarkets
Supino Insurance, Lynnfield & Malden
TaggArt Studios, Wakefield
Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading (UUCR)
Vital Emergency Medical Servces, Worcester
Village Pharmacy, Lynnfield
Wakefield Physical Therapy Associates, Wakefield
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Thank you Pinnacle Private Wealth...
...for auctioning off these items to benefit Gathering Change, Inc. at your recent Toys for Tots Holiday Party. Pictured are a signed Jacoby Ellsbury Jersey and a signed Jose Iglesias Pawsox Hat. Both items came with a six-pack of Premiere Box Seats to a 2013 Pawtucket Red Sox game of choice. Items donated kindly by Lou Schwechheimer of The Pawtucket Red Sox.
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Board of Directors
Yvonne Blacker
Creative Director
Judy Bousquin
Publicity Committee Co-Chair, Nominating Committee Co-Chair and Cofounder
Susie Cleary
Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair
Stacy Dahlstedt
Interim Secretary
Dorothy Goodwin
Founder and President, Grant Writing Chair, Web Site/Newsletter Co-Chair
Cindy Z. Hanshaw
Website/Newsletter Committee Co-Chair
Marianne Snow
Nominating Commitee Co-Chair, Publicity Committee Co-Chair, Volunteer Committee Chair and Cofounder
Marianne Supino
Board Secretary
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We'd love to hear from you.
 Catch up with us on facebook
Send Newsletter suggestions, questions or comments to chanshaw@gatheringchangeinc.org
Send general inquiries to
dgoodwin@gatheringchangeinc.org.
Join Our Mailing List |
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President's Spotlight on Hunger
Dear Friends,
This month Gathering Change, Inc. would like to highlight Beverly Bootstraps Food Pantry located in Beverly, Massachusetts. They host a comprehensive food assistance program including a food pantry, summer park lunches, community gardens and a mobile market. They are an example of what is possible when a community works together!
- Monday through Friday, and twice a month on Saturdays, the Food Pantry distributes over 1,000 items of food to Beverly and Manchester-by-the-Sea residents.
- In fiscal year 2012, over 2,700 individuals were served and 24,984 bags of food were given out.
- During this holiday season food bags and close to 500 turkeys are being given out.
- In the summer months, the Mobile Market, provides households with fresh fruit and vegetables. Other offerings include nutrition education, SNAP information, chef demonstrations, food samplings and youth activities. 12,000 pounds of fresh produce and vegetables were distributed.
- Summer Park Lunches- They work with the Beverly Public Schools to offer a lunch program that provides free healthy lunches.
- 5,000 lunches were distributed in the summer of 2012.
- Community gardens consist of 36 plots, open to community gardeners for their own use, along with 16 raised beds that supply fresh produce for the Food Pantry. Thousands of pounds of produce have gone to feed both the families of the gardeners as well as the needy families who visit the Food Pantry.
Thank you Beverly Bootstraps Food Pantry for providing food, nourishment and hope!
Gratefully yours,
Dorothy Goodwin, President
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| Gathering Change Inc. Is Honored To Be Chosen As The Charity To Benefit From The Massachusetts Conference For Women
Building on the Conference's theme "Imagine - Find Your Purpose and Make a Difference," and furthering its mission of helping women and girls, the Massachusetts Conference for Women offered attendees the chance to give back. The new Community Corner, located in the Exhibit Hall, gave attendees an opportunity to connect the expansive Conference community with the needs of the communities we live in.
The Conference asked attendees to lighten their load by scooping out their spare change and depositing it in one of the containers for Gathering Change, Inc. These funds are being sent to The Women's Lunch Place.
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Reflection: The Women's Lunch Place, by Judy Bousquin
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L to R. Dorothy Goodwin, Judy Bousquin, Sharon Reilly and Angela Lett
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Dorothy and I visited The Women's Lunch Place one afternoon for a tour and lunch. This organization provides a warm welcoming place for homeless women and women in poverty (and their children), a comfy place to eat, shower, take a nap, read a book or participate in any of the many offered programs. We were impressed by the bright and clean atmosphere and the cozy touches such as fresh flowers on each café table. As Executive Director Sharon Reilly and Major Gifts Officer Angela Lett showed us around the building, I realized I was crying. My tears were not for the plight of the guests of The Women's Lunch Place; my tears were in recognition of the need and appreciation of this need being met. These women on the edge of their lives are treated with respect and offered an opportunity to begin again. The Women's Lunch Place acts as sort of a family to these women, providing them a safe home-like atmosphere where "dignity is everything".
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Volunteers Needed to Gift Wrap for Change
December 12th and 22nd at Barnes & Noble
Gathering Change, Inc. will be gift wrapping to raise money for local food pantries at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Burlington.
Dec.12th from 8:30 to 11:00 p.m.
Dec. 22 from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
 L to R, Marianne Supino and Denise DiBello |
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Touchdowns for Hunger
L to R: Robert and Nick LoConte Nick LoConte coordinated a fundraiser at the Lynnfield and North Reading Thanksgiving Day football game. With the help of 15 classmates wearing orange t-shirts they collected $660.89 in change to support two local food pantries on Thanksgiving Day at the BIG GAME! Nick took it upon himself to get permission from the Superintendents in both communities, for what will be an annual event, came up with the slogan, recruited friends to help and in 15 minutes their buckets were full! Thank you Nick and friends!  | |
Pictured L to R: Kathy Jervey and Sandy Carriker of the North Reading Food Pantry after receiving funds from "Touchdowns for Hunger."
The Haven from Hunger in Peabody which serves Lynnfield Residents received half of the funds.
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"Making Change" Raised $11,000.00!
The Ipswich Country Club Ladies Night Out Committee sent a beautiful heart felt thank you note to everyone who participated in their Making Change Silent Auction and Charity Raffle. Here is an excerpt from the note: "We began this endeavor as collegues, acquaintances, community members and friends. Together we have made a positive change in the lives of so many people who suffer from hunger."
Thank you for your generous donations and support of this wonderful cause!
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The funds raised at The Ipswich Country Club Ladies Night Out were donated to the Acord Food Pantry in Hamilton.
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About Gathering Change, Inc.
We are a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization that collects spare change from our communities for distribution back into our neighborhood food pantries and social programs. Since our first collection in October of 2008 we have been able to donate food or funds to over 44 Massachusetts food pantries.
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