Monday, May 18, 2009

Diapers! Hurray!



While Germantown HELP doesn't buy diapers when we're out of them, as we usually focus on food, many of our clients really appreciate when we have them available. Just when we ran almost completely out of diapers, Great Seneca Creek Elementary School collected a pile of diapers and wipes for us! Our intrepid volunteer Silvina Zarate brought them into the pantry over the weekend. Thank you!!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Final Count

We swung by and picked up the "late" food from the post office yesterday, bringing this year's tally officially to 102 boxes of nonperishable food. Thanks very much, Amy Campain and the letter carriers! You rock.

Here's the site from the food drive: http://www.helpstampouthunger.com/thankyou.aspx.

United Church of Christ Seneca Valley also had some beautiful cereal yesterday; it's so much nicer to have donated cereals. When Germantown HELP buys it, we get the cheapest and most boring cereal for the buck (that isn't loaded with sugar). (Usually, generic corn flakes). The donated cereals run the gamut from Kashi to Captain Crunch, so people will get some great variety and bigger boxes, too.

Thanks to Yuen Lee, technically a Meals on Wheels volunteer, for stepping in to help fill some of the gaps in the Germantown HELP schedule this month. It's a big help!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Stamp Out Hunger

Phew! You know those white bins that the post office uses to sort and carry mail? The Letter Carriers Association's "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive was this past Saturday; our intrepid Germantown letter carriers hauled in 100 bins of food! Germantown HELP rented a truck to transport all that food to the pantry. Howard Lichtman, Steve Maselko, and Suzanne Krall and son Sean came to load the truck. Around 6:30, seven boy scouts, eleven adults and a few other helpers sorted it all and squeezed it into the pantry. It was a big effort to pull it all off in a couple hours, thank you everyone!!

I meant to take pictures, I really did, but I just forgot. There was so much going on! I'm getting pretty good at driving trucks (this one was 17 feet, much easier than December's 24-footer to pick up Toys for Tots), but I still won't back one up without constant guidance.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Saturday May 9th is Stamp Out Hunger!

Next Saturday is "Stamp Out Hunger," the annual Letter Carriers Association food collection. Some years they collect a LOT; other years, they collect even more! This year, we will rent a truck and pick it all up at once (or maybe two trips, depending on the haul). Do you have a strong back? Are you available to help, starting at about 4:45? Please let Cindy know at cindymajane@gmail.com. Thanks!