Thanksgiving and Christmas are wonderful times for most families, but not for everyone. For over 20 years, Quincy Crisis Center has done all that we can to make the holidays special for families with limited resources. We assist seniors living alone, families with young children and households impacted by disability. Last year, your generous donations and volunteer help enabled us to make over 380 holiday deliveries to families across the South Shore. You provided over 9 tons of food including over 400 turkeys (some were used at the feeding program) and you accomplished the seemingly impossible.
Your help is again needed to make sure these holidays are a wonderful celebration for every family in our neighborhoods. QCC's Help for the Holidays program provides turkeys and all the traditional fixings for both Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. Also, at Christmastime, we intend to provide gifts for each child in the families we serve. We want each child to receive an age appropriate book, toy or game, an article of clothing and warm winter hats and gloves or mittens.
Every indication this year is that we will serve significantly more families than previous years. Our Food for Families program received 39% more requests for assistance in the last quarter than we received one year ago. 24% of those requesting assistance in September were families we have never helped before. The present economic downturn is bringing some serious problems to our neighbors. This means that we need many sponsors, including new ones, to commit to donating turkeys, hams, other food items and gifts. We will also need to hear soon from volunteers, including new volunteers, to help make up and/or deliver these packages to homes across the South Shore.
Delivery days this year are November 17 for Thanksgiving and December 15 for Christmas. Leading up to those dates, we will need help preparing the food and gifts for delivery. You can also help by sponsoring a family or encouraging your co-workers, classmates or friends to join you in a food drive, gift drive or group volunteer activity. Together, we can express our thankfulness and advance compassion by bringing hope and joy to those in our community who especially need it. Mark your calendars and call Kathi (617-847-6967) to schedule to be a part of the fun.
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Where There Is No Will There May Be No Way Nearly half of all American adults fail to have a will at any given time. Considering what is typically at stake, such a failure of omission will probably create a number of problems. When people die without a will, courts typically dispose of their assets, financial and otherwise, according to state law. The courts undoubtedly would not be able to anticipate what you would have wished to share between members of your family, your friends, and charitable organizations. Also, the assets will be distributed over a longer period of time, and often at considerable expense, diminishing the assets before they are distributed. On the other hand, a properly made out will can reflect, in considerable detail, your wishes and understandings of the varying needs of members of your family and friends, and the charities for which you care, including your support of the Esther R. Sanger Center for Compassion and its programs at Quincy Crisis Center and the Mary-Martha Learning Center. If you do not done so, you should see an attorney about drafting a will at your earliest convenience. |
State
Street Corporation:
Partner in Compassion
Corporate partners strengthen the work of the Quincy Crisis Center in a variety of ways. Over the years, State Street Bank has provided considerable assistance to QCC. Recently, State Street has implemented changes to expand their commitment to the community. State Street employees are encouraged to volunteer and are even provided one day of paid leave each year for community service. Even before these new efforts, State Street employees provided invaluable service to Quincy Crisis Center. Ron Dubois, who served as Board President for over 10 years, and Richard Dinsmore, past Vice President, were both State Street employees when they joined the QCC board.
In March, State Street employees participated in a food drive at the
Quincy office complex and over 1000 pounds of food (that's half a ton!!) were collected by State Street employees.
Another important dimension of this partnership has been financial support. State Street Bank has from time to time over the past 15 years made significant grants to support the work of the Quincy Crisis Center. Most recently, State Street awarded QCC a grant of $ l5,000 to underwrite the Faith Covenant Meal feeding program. It would be extremely difficult to accomplish the work of Quincy Crisis Center without the help of corporate partners like State Street. Thank you State Street for advancing a culture of compassion on the South Shore and around the globe.
The Food for Families program is the only food pantry in the area which delivers needed groceries to the homes of every family it serves. The majority of the people we serve are folk who for reasons such as ill health, disability, or age cannot get emergency food assistance any other way. QCC provides food and a friendly visitor to our homebound neighbors. Volunteers are essential to continue this valuable program.
Volunteers make the Food for Families program effective primarily in two ways. First, volunteers show up daily at the QCC building in Wollaston to organize the donated food and to pack grocery bags. Each request for food receives help customized to family size, dietary restrictions, and need. Second, volunteers who have their own vehicles come to pick up these groceries, to deliver them and to visit those we serve in their homes.
One of our most consistent Food for Families volunteers is Maura Devin of Quincy, who, usually assisted by one or more members of her family, comes around nine-thirty on Tuesday mornings to deliver groceries and a smile.
Ms. Devin, who is a visiting nurse by profession, has been volunteering in this fashion for the last 2 years. At first, she wanted to perform this service on her own part and as a way of involving her daughter and her two twin sons in community service as well. With summer over, the boys are back at B.C. High School, where they do service-learning by volunteering at Father Bill’s Place. Now, Maura is often assisted by her daughter, Shannon, her niece, Monica Gentile and their grandmother (Maura's Mom), Mrs. Maureen Kowilcik.
Maura says that she is committed to such service because of her religious beliefs, which teach her to do for others as she would have them do for her. She also points to the lesson of the parable of the Good Samaritan, which clearly implies that we should help people whom we do not know. She finds this form of service very rewarding, personally and very positive for her family.
Got e-mail??
In the interest of cost savings and safety, the Quincy Crisis Center would like to use e-mail and the internet more effectively. Many people are concerned about the safety of the mail and are disposing of unsolicited mail and newsletters. We're sure that you don't look at our mail as junk mail; but if we can redirect funds from postage and printing to meeting the needs of our neighbors, we should certainly do so. If you do not have e-mail, don't worry; we will continue to communicate in every way we can. At present, we lack the sophistication, software and expertise to post our newsletters on the web or to immediately move to e-mail as an important communication tool. However, as we transition, we will need some help from you.
First, and most obvious, we need your e-mail address. The enclosed reply card contains space for your e-mail address(es). Please complete and return the card and help us compile an e-mail list of our supporters. Like the rest of your information, this will be held in strict confidence. We have never (and will never) sell, lend or distribute your information to others. Please fill the card out completely. This will help us correct any mistakes in our database and correctly identify whose e-mail address we have received.
Second, we need volunteers with experience in developing websites, HTML, converting Word or Publisher documents to web-based newsletters, etc. QCC also needs volunteers who can help us improve our overall efficiency through the use of technology, help us develop our in-house network and train our staff in software use, etc. If you possess these talents and are willing to share them with QCC, please call us or indicate it on the reply card. We hope to move forward on this as soon as possible and, in time, to form a Technology Advisory Committee to help us stay current.
| Thank You ENC for a Great Idea!! | A group of Eastern Nazarene College sophomores came up with a creative Halloween idea; they went trick-or-treating for canned goods. In less than two hours they collected over 200 pounds of food for the QCC food pantry. This worked so well that we'd like to expand it next year. If you think your youth group, scout troop, Sunday school class or other group would like to help us next October, call and let's start planning now! |