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They say that the spirit of giving .....
lies within all of us. We believe it. Just this week we met up with young Samantha Chandler
and her grandmother Ann Zack. Samantha decided she'd like to help people who needed food so she enlisted Ann to help
her with the project. The twosome collected food then shopped for more. Here they're shown down at the food bank, where
they presented the gift to Chairman Guy. What a great way to bond with a granchild............
Then there is the Dorso family. After years of gift giving via the Pollyanna
method among the adults, they agreed that there was little they needed or wanted , so they'd give the money to
a worthy cause. LUCKY us - we are the worthy cause. The Dorso family also celebrates special occasions on our Memorial &
Celebrations page and Tom and Anne Marie Dorso are esteemed sponsors. All of which has earned them the very
special and exclusive title of F.O.F.B. (Friends of the food bank) ...................This week Shawn Huber paid us
his annual visit. As his way of CELEBRATING Thanksgiving, he assembles & donates a large basket of dinner fixings
and of course a turkey . He even provides an aluminum roasting pan. Bravo Shawn...................and finally our neighborhood
by the food bank is collecting gifts for the FOOD BANK KIDS for Christmas.. Very simple method, they are honoring a
child or grandchild in their lives, by buying a gift for his or her food bank kid counterpart. Who knows what a 12 year old
boy wants or wears but a 12 year old boy?... Your are invited to join in this very creative cause. Distribution is December
19th so we need the gifts by the 18th. We just ask that a limit be set of $25 per item or piece of clothing. This is to avoid
inequity of the gifts. And if you have 12 kids or grandkids, never fear, just pick your favorite one (we won't tell)
Intergenerational Club Pays A Visit
One of the storesmaster's favorite visits of the year is from Lacey Middle Schol
Students\Elders from the Intergenerational Club of Lacey as as they arrive in a big yellow school bus
chock full of non food items.
This year, they arrived in the rain, but by the time they left the sun was peeking through
enough so that we could take our traditional picture in front of the bus picture.
The group sets out in early autumn to collect a large amount of non food items, everything
from toothpaste and shampoo, to paper items and cleaning supplies and as you can see, this is one bit pile of items -
this group of youngsters take their mission seriously. Luckily they stayed to sort and pack it - or the poor volunteers
would have been there for hours. Thanks to all of you who helped, these gifts will be eagerly taken at the next
distribution by the clients.
Happy Holidays to all of you
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| HAIL HAIL THE GANGS ALL HERE ! |
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| Oof, there's lots more to come.. |
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| Two generations working together |
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| Many Hands Make Light Work |
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LACEY FOOD BANK'S FIRST ANNUAL GARAGE SALE A SUCCESS
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When FoodBank Volunteer Pete Peters initiated this happening, he had no
inkling of things to come (or he might have quit before he started) The first date rained out, and with a trailer full
of donated merchandise and more coming every day, the raindate was set in place.
But it was the day after distribution , the crew was weary and the
weather prediction in the low 30's.... oh my word ! And the Interact Students from Lacey High had worked their fingers
and feet to the bone. Could they handle another day of this? Could we handle this? Would anyone come on this frigid
windy day?
Gamely the kids arrived with their advisor, Bunny McGauley and provided
the muscle needed to get tables from the Fire Department, set them up, then dismantle them at the end of the day.
PTSA President Laura Caroccia and Secretary Donna McAvoy came with a trailer loaded with treasures collected from
PTSA family and friends. Interact officers Jenna Caroccia and Robbie McAvoy were on hand to receive and unload the many food
donations that came in during the day.
The PTSA set up station in the front room of the food bank, and grateful
volunteers, students and the public were able to get in out of the cold and have some coffee, hot chocolate, doughnuts and
buttered rolls, all donated.
| MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM FLOTILLA 79 |
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| TO THE FOLKS AT THE LACEY FOOD BANK |
Shoppers were generous, many leaving behind checks and others refusing change. And Commander Tom Don, of the
Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 79 , stopped by to present a donation of $500 to food bank chairman Guy Burnett as a boost
for the holiday season.
Our thanks to Laura Coraccia for her reporting of this event, to all of the students and advisors, and to Pete Peters who took an idea and ran with it (with
the help of these great organizations and his fellow volunteers who showed up and froze along with the rest of them) By the way, they are already planning the 2nd annual garage sale, BUT that one will
be in the Spring.
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| HOT CHOCOLATE & A HUDDLE |
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| KEPT THE INTERACT WOMEN GOING |
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| THE WALKING BILLBOARD CREW |
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| "COME TO THE INTERACT CAFE" |
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| DO YOU THINK WE HAVE A.... |
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| FUTURE IN RETAIL? |
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| THESE GIRLS WORKED SO HARD THAT |
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| THEY GOT DOUBLE DOUGHNUTS ! |
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| INTERACT OFFICERS |
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| JENNA & ROBBIE |
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| BUSY TEENS ARE HAPPY TEENS |
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| AND THESE TEENS ARE VERY HAPPY. |
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AND A HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL ...
Thanks to our friends at the Rotary Club and Lacey High School's Interact Club, the
turkeys flew out the door this week with over 160 families receiving a full turkey dinner, complete with pie. This annual
tradition has seen our list of clients double over the past five years and somehow the Rotary manages to keep
up with the list. While they provide the turkey and fixin's, the young women and men of Interact do the lifting and legwork.
The day was sheer bedlam because it was also the regular distribution day for the food bank, but by mid morning, 160 families
had happily carried their bountiful stash of food home. Update: by Thanksgiving
day we gave out 176 turkeys and dinners , an all time high for the foodbank.
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| 160 TURKEY DINNERS CAME OUT OF THIS TRUCK |
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| Interact Chain Gang |
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| "Pass the peas, please" |
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| 160 TURKEYS ! |
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| That is a LOT of turkeys |
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| Stuffing? Potatoes? Gravy? Cranberries? |
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| String beans? corn? peas? Pies? PIES? WHERE ARE THE PIES? |
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| Presenting LHS Jr. Rotarian Service Club |
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| INTERACT 2008 |
MR. TOUCHDOWN CONTEST A WINNER FOR THE FOOD BANK
This annual contest is a fun filled event with a purpose... to raise money for a good cause,
and students at Lacey High enthusiastically join in the fun. Coach Jennifer Boyle assigns each cheerleader a player
and the drive is on to get their man the title by selling votes. Now they say behind every successful man is a woman,
and so meet Coral Caiola, who boosted her man to the front and gained him this prestigious title. A win win contest with the
foodbank receiving $1,000 donation - $500 cash proceeds from the contest with the Football Foundation
matching the proceeds . Thanks guys & gals and GO LIONS!
| MEET MR. TOUCHDOWN |
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| THOMAS RICKMERS & LACEY H.S. CHEERLEADER SQUAD |
BOY SCOUTS DO THEIR GOOD DEEDS
And the food bank is back in business through the holidays.
This annual food drive is a life saver for us. And the scouts really came through. The troops scoured the town,
distributing thousands of bags. And our Lacey community responded by fillng them. Here's how the day went : Very early in
the morning,
the Scouts fanned out across Lacey to collect the bags left on residents
doors last week, then brought them to the food bank.
It was a real happening with Food
Bank volunteers gathered at our building on the corner of Station Drive and Parker St. at nine o'clock, ready to receive
the "troops of troops" Unhindered by the rain, by ten oclock, the scouts were coming with cars, vans and trucks
filled with bags, a staggering 600 bags in all.. .. then our work started.
Volunteers met the scouts, who transferred the bags to our truck
and van, then for the next 5 hours, the volunteers brought in the food, sorted it into in flat boxes
(tuna with tuna, Peanut Butter,etc.) and shelved it. Just imagine a pile of 14
cases of tuna fish - pretty impressive? But the fact is that those 336 cans of tuna willl be given out the next
month to our list of 186 families...and so it goes, the food comes in and the food comes out. And thanks to the great youngsters in the community of Lacey, it
keeps coming in...
Here's a gallery of pictures from Saturday...We are sorry we could't feature
each and every scout and troop, but there is always next year. (CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE)
MEET THE NEW PRESIDENT
Here's Patrick Maguire, the new president of Lacey High School's
Student Government Association. Stopping by the food bank's headquarters on Station Drive with the first
of many offerings the students will collect over the school year, he was greeted warmly by Snoopy Burnett, the Food Bank Dog.
(Snoopy looks forward to meeting new friends and checking for broken bags of cookies )
Lacey High School Students are major players in the
battle to keep the food bank's filled. Take a look at the past year in the newsletter and on the "Thanks and
" page, to see the roll call of the many events and contributions they've made to us. We know that this ethic of
giving will last them a lifetime and we applaud them for being true FOFB (Friends Of the Food Bank.)
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| Patrick & Snoopy |
LANOKA FARMS "PUMPKINS UP" THE FOOD
BANK
Cheers to Robert Porcellini Jr. for brightening up
our Halloween distribution. Thanks to him each family's bag was topped off with a pumpkin. And never mind just the kids,
the old folks love it too. This is the fourth year Lanoka Farms has gifted our clients . They are true FOFB (Friends
of the Food Bank)
LACEY SOCCER CLUB SCORES A WINNER !
Due to their committment to our food bank, the players, parents and great organizers
and coaches of the Lacey Soccer Club filled our almost empty shelves with over 800 pounds of the food they collected
on Sat. October 25 - most of it being the much needed SOUP. Despite a bad weather forecast, the games kept coming and
the players kept donating. A real win for the food bank. Thanks to all for the "souper" effort.
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| Coaches Kevin, Rob & Billy |
IT PAYS TO KNOW SOMEONE !
Thanks to our faithful volunteer, Jim Joeriman, husband of faithful
volunteer Joanne Norton Joeriman, the food bank gained another esteemed sponsor and a trunk load of food to boot. Jim
is the manager of Caldwell Bankers Riviera Realty. His coordinator for the food drive which will be a ongoing event is Sherron
Wilde, Sales Associate.
Sherron advises that the Riviera Realty office at 1055 Lacey
Rd will be the drop off center for residents wishing to donate food or money. It is t heir intention to be
a pernanent drop off point.
With this gift, they will be providing a food bank family a monthly
ShopRite food card, and supplementary fresh food for a year. Thanks guys.
VFW PAYS US A VISIT
Not only did the folks at the VFW collect a mighty fine batch of food
for us, but then they delivered it right to the front door. With our shelves very bare lately it was a welcome sight for sore
eyes. Thanks to all at VFW Post 10118 for filling those bags and boxes. Shown below are:
Commander Larry Lee and Howard Toms.
APPLE FESTIVAL DEFIES THE WEATHER
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| A colorful sign of the season |
Despite gloomy skies, the Historical Museum's popular annual
apple festival went on as planned. The quintessential small town Americana event is a delight - from the apple pie contest
and the pumpkin patch, to the participation of the high school band and Boy Scouts. Committee man Dave Most, fulfilled his
pledge to wash a school bus to pay off his losing bet and collected barrels of food for us. And of course, our faithful
volunteers turned out to flier the crowd , hand out lollipops to the kids, and eat apple pie. Who needed sunshine
for that? Take a look at the days events......
(click on pictures to enlarge)
Thanks to ShopRite, with the help of Jennifer McMahon, the food
bank clients attending in August all received fresh salad ingredients. This gift was eagerly taken by all. Shop
Rite is a true FOFB. We couldn't do it without them.
ALONG WITH THE SALADS, CLIENTS WERE AGAIN TREATED
TO FRESH PRODUCE COURTESY OF THE FORKED RIVER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH'S " HUNGER ACTION TEAM" . FOOD BANK VOLUNTEERS VALERIE
KRUSIESKI & LORELLE GORMLY SORT AND PACKAGE 140 BAGS OF THE PRODUCE MONTHLY.
THE LACEY MUNICIPAL ALLIANCE HOLDS A 5K RACE
Thanks to the following students for donating
their race winnings to the Food Bank - Roger Hopper, Philp Wood, David Lawler, and Christine McMahon. The grand
total of the donations came to $300. You' ve got generous hearts and for that we thank you.
THE OCEAN FIRST FOUNDATION
Thanks to the generousity of the Ocean First Foundation, the philanthopic
branch of Ocean First Bank, the Lacey Food Bank will be able to buy a storage trailer, which will be placed adjacent to our
building on the corner of Station Dr and Parker Ave.
This is good news for the storesmaster and for our clients. With the additon of additonal
freezer space, we'll be able to accept fresh and frozen foods. When someone wants to give us an appliance, we can stash it
there, so the next time a client needs a washer, dryer, stove or refrigerator, hopefully we'll have one for them.
This is the fourth grant Ocean First has awarded us. The first grant enabled us to
increase the monthly food certificates to $10. , the second bought us freezers and refrigerators, the third paid for the insurance
on our van, enabling us to put it on the road. They are true friends to the Food Bank, and for this we thank them.
Shown here are Dick Sansone (l) and Guy Burnett
(r) accepting
a check for $3,200 from assistant vice president and manager
of the Lacey Branch
Lorrainne Dellert
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1 + 1 = 2
THANKS TO MR. & MRS. WILLIAM LEACH FOR SIGNING UP AGAIN FOR THE ESTEEMED
SPONSOR PROGRAM. THIS YEAR, THE LEACHE'S APPLIED FOR MOBILE'S RETIREES MATCHING GIFT FUND PROGRAM, WHICH DOUBLES THEIR GIFT.
ARE YOU A RETIREE OR DO YOU WORK FOR A COMPANY THAT MATCHES CHARITABLE GIFTS? CHECK IT OUT.
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THE WOMEN OF CURVES , ONCE AGAIN, CAME THROUGH FOR THE FOOD BANK
KIDS, WITH THEIR DONATIONS OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES, JUST IN TIME FOR THE SCHOOL BUS ! ALL THIS BESIDES THEIR FOOD DRIVE EARLIER
IN THE YEAR, ALONG WITH THEIR ANNUAL TOY DRIVE IN DECEMBER. THANKS LADIES, YOU ARE TRUE F.O.F.B.
* Friends of the Food Bank
LACEY POP WARNER LEAGUE CHEERLEADERS HOLD
FOOD DRIVE
Stores Master Dick Sansone, shown here accepting food collected
by the Pop Warner League Cheerleaders food drive. The shelves are emptying quickly this summer so it was most welcome. Thanks
to all who participated.
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CLICK TO ENLARGE ALL PICTURES
ON THE WEBSITE.
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LACEY DAY A HIT !
Up to 5,000 Lacey residents took advantage of a picture perfect day to come out for Lacey
Day. Free food, games & rides on the firetruck delighted the youngsters. The business expo showed off our businessmen, and
there were exhibits from everyone from the Garden Club to the Lacey LIbrary. And of course, the Lacey Food
Bank took the opportunity to educate the public with fliers and even collected almost $150 in impromptu donations.
Mayor Dave Most, the Rotary Club and Lacey HIgh's Interact club were kept busy cooking
the burgers and dogs to a long line of hungry people, courtesy of Shop Rite. (Storesmaster Dick, using a quantum
theory, followed a guy in a yellow shirt as he moved along the line and clocked the wait at only 12 minutes!)
Here's a picture gallery from one of the happiest events held in Lacey.
| LACEY HEAD LIBRARIAN, KATHY LANZIM |
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| & STAFF, OUT FOR A DAY OF SUNSHINE |
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| DICK & GUY - PARTNERS IN THE WAR |
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| AGAINST HUNGER |
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JUDY & JOANNE, TAKING A DAY OFF FROM THE OFFICE
TO DO A GOOD DEED.
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| ALWAYS THERE FOR US |
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| ROSE & HOWARD FURBECK |
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LETS SEE, 5,000 PEOPLE X HOW MANY HOT DOGS AND HAMBURGERS? MAYOR
MOST AND ROTARY ARE COOKING UP A STORM
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ONLY 12 MINUTES ? SO SAYS THE STORESMASTER
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CHECK OUT THIS MUCH NEEDED FOOD DONATION, THANKS TO SHAWN DARLING'S
GLADIATOR BOXING EXPO. ATTENDEES WERE ASKED FOR FOOD AS ADMISSION. THANKS TO ALL "THE GLADIATORS", A BOXING AND CARDIO KICKBOX GYM
IN THE LACEY BUSINESS PARK.
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