Martin Grohman
Thank you to the team led by Ken Farley, who delivered 6 raised beds this week! Karen Chasse ("CEO Mom"), Justine Bassett, Jen Fullmer, and Jim Godbout rounded out the small but effective team! We do need volunteers for this weekend for this rewarding work, so please watch for an email from Ken.
Thank you to Colonel Hakim for his amazing talk at last week's meeting, helping us understand the situation in Afghanistan. It was especially moving to hear how welcoming the Biddeford community has been. And we can't say it enough: thank you to Jen Fullmer for making Hakim and his family a home here.
Thank you to Heather Gendron for arranging our $1,000 college scholarships to students graduating from our four local high schools: Thornton Academy, Old Orchard Beach High School, Biddeford High School, and Biddeford Regional Center of Technology. The Award is made for the second semester of Freshman year and is paid by us directly to the student for use in paying tuition, room and board, books, or other additional needs directly related to their studies. The winning students will be notified this week!
We've been having fun, interesting meetings, with a good core group turning out. We need about 17 people to break even at Dizzy Birds. It's nice if you sign up, to make it easier for me to plan the meeting (such as choosing someone to give the invocation), but it's not a must. Feel free to bring a guest. We had two great guests last week, Brad and Ramin. Chef Tom always makes something good (it's not just chicken). In fact, last week, it was Thanksgiving, which was fun. The week before that, it was fajitas. There's always plenty, and if you're in a hurry, grab a takeout box and bring lunch back to the office.
For your calendar, here's our schedule of upcoming meetings (all at Dizzy Birds) through the month of June, as well as other events to get involved with:
- May 18, just us, no speaker. Chef Tom's good food, fun, happy dollars, fellowship and project updates. Guests welcome
- Saturday May 21, Raised Bed delivery & setup, 9AM -- noon
- May 25, just us, no speaker. Chef Tom's good food, fun, happy dollars, fellowship and project updates. Guests welcome
- Thursday May 26 at 9AM, place Memorial Day flags on veterans graves at St. Joseph's Cemetery, West Street, Biddeford. Rain or shine
- June 1, no meeting (holiday week)
- June 5, Syrup Distribution at Pension Professionals, 9AM, 180 Pool St, Biddeford (when picking up, you can also help prepare the syrup you sold to others, to be shipped)
- June 8, Past Presidents. Not to be missed. All past presidents of the Club invited, usually our biggest crowd of the year.
- June 15, Awards Day. We will be presenting all of our Club awards, and we have some exciting and very deserving awardees selected.
- June 22, just us, no speaker. (Marty on vacation, looking for guest host. Got a fun idea? Let's do it!)
- June 29, presidential handoff. Welcome, Brenda!
Note that we do not have a meeting on June 1 (because of the holiday week). Past Presidents, a meeting not to be missed, is June 8, and Awards is June 15 (the committee met this week and has chosen some very deserving awardees).
All meetings are at Dizzy Birds, 65 Main Street, Biddeford.
We had a fun meeting last week, although turnout was a little light, and interesting speakers from the 9,300 acre Rachel Carson preserve, which makes up much of our Maine coast from Wells to Scarborough. Our presenters, USAF Veteran Tom Wall, and biologist Rachel Stern from the US Fish & Wildlife Service were interesting. One takeaway is that this is a large preserve with lots of programming for the community, including for children, and they encourage to visit and get involved -- it's a hidden gem (notwithstanding the fact that there is a picture of the preserve on the wall at Dizzy Birds -- $5 from Marty for anyone who can point it out!). We do not want a Silent Spring, except maybe from PP Joe!
This week, let's make sure to all turn out for Jen Fullmer & Team Hakim's presentation. Last fall, Jen presented on their dramatic exodus from Kabul, Afghanistan. Now this family of eleven is settled here in Biddeford. You won't want to miss this story; along with our usual good food and fellowship.
Today, we are sending $595 from Clynk proceeds to a young student, Onyango, in Kisumu, Kenya. This is an incredible amount of help for her, and will pay part of her high school tuition. C'mon now, I know we all drink four cans of seltzer water a day... please use our Rotary Clynk bags! I will have some bags & stickers at Dizzy Birds this week.
Happy Dollars:
Sergeant at Arms Jim led a very interesting challenge, for each member to give the next line of the Star Spangled Banner, as we went around the room. If I asked you right now, could you give the first line of the second verse? I didn't think so. That'll be a dollar!!
- Julie gave $10 for her 55th birthday -- happy birthday, Julie! Thanks for all you do for our Club, as secretary. Literally every day we have you doing something, including complex wire transfers to Ukraine, board meeting minutes, and many more items.
- Don Pilon piled on with $1 to thank Julie and Saco Biddeford Savings Institution for their generosity.
- Conrad is happy and sad to say, that his Aunt, who is 98, has been admitted to hospice.
- Bill Paterson gave $5, that his youngest daughter is graduating from UMaine. Congratulations!
- Dr. Brian was $5 happy to be back in person. Thank you for all your help, Brian!! Good to have you back from Florida.
- Phil Mateja (a retired athletic trainer, who has worked with many elite athletes) is $5 happy to be fine, 17 days after Covid
- Your happy dollar here! Join us this week... Chef Tom is cooking up good stuff, and the outdoor awning will be up!
As we plan the final stages of a great service project we are still in need of volunteers. Many hands make light work and I'm asking all of you to commit to helping at least one day and hopefully more.
We need volunteers for the following:
Saturday, May 7th from 9 am to noon: Looking for a couple more volunteers to help assemble metal and wood raised garden beds for Biddeford Community Gardens at Rotary Park in Biddeford.
Saturday, May 14th from 9 am to noon: We need 5 more volunteers to install raised garden beds for our Family Garden project. The plan is to have two teams of four deliver four raised garden beds each. Additional details will be emailed the week of the event. We will need the following tools for each team; wheel barrow, 2-3 shovels, a steel rake and a cordless screw gun.
Saturday, May 21st from 9 am to noon: We need 6 more volunteers to install raised garden beds for our Family Garden project. The plan is to have two teams of four deliver four raised garden beds each. Additional details will be emailed the week of the event. We will need the following tools for each team; wheel barrow, 2-3 shovels, a steel rake and a cordless screw gun.
Please let me know which day(s) you can help. Thanks a lot.
Yours in service,
Ken Farley-Great speaker this week: Have you ever wondered about the Rachel Carson Preserve? It covers more than 5,000 acres and 50 miles of Maine coast. Two members of the staff will attend to tell us more about the preserve and its history and programs.
-Thanks to Paulette for running the meeting last week. I hope that some of us can sign up to provide rides for the MaineWorks program.
-This Saturday is the first volunteer opportunity for the Raised Bed Garden project. Please see story from Ken Farley with details.
-Do you plan to attend our District Conference on May 14? Brenda is attending and hopes others will join.
-Remember that we will be placing flags at St Joseph's Cemetery on West Street in Biddeford on Thursday May 26 at 9AM.
-It's time to nominate for our annual awards ceremony! Please get your nominations to Bill Kany, in the categories of . Awards Day will be June 15.
For longer than I can remember I have been sending out this annual solicitation for award nominees, and I have to say this may be my last, but I digress. Again it is time for the Awards Committee (whoever that may be) to get together to select worthy recipients for the Club’s public sector, private sector, humanitarian and vocational awards. Included herewith is a description of each award and a list of past recipients of each award. What the committee needs from you are suggested award recipients in each category. Please note, that in almost every instance, the awards are given to people suggested to the committee by members of our Club.
While award recipients are frequently members of our Club, they do not have to be members. In fact, most of the time the recipients are not members of the Club. I would also point out that even if you do not have an idea for an award recipient for one particular category, please give us as many suggestions as you can for the other categories. We would appreciate it if you would get back to us as soon as possible with your suggestions. Awards day is scheduled for June 8, 2022 this year (a tad bit earlier than usual). The committee does need to meet to ultimately decide on the award recipients and then the awards need to be ordered and engraved so please get your suggestions back to us by May 4.
If you have any questions regarding any of the award categories, please contact me (Bill S. Kany at 602-7381 or email me at bkany@sbsavings.bank) or the other members of the committee, Joe Moreshead, and Brian Dalliare (neither of whom actually knows they are on the committee and note there may be others but I don’t know who they are). If we do not have any suggestions from you the committee is left to its own devices which is never good. The alternative is to not give out one or more awards if we do not have candidates, but that is silly because there are so many worthy candidates out there.
Thanks, Bill
Here are the award descriptions. I have also attached a list of the past recipients of each award.
The Private Sector Award is awarded to a citizen whose good works have been performed independently of their employment in the private sector. Recipients work for the public good, while being privately employed or not employed by a government or community entity. An example of a past recipient would be a building contractor who works towards helping the hungry through setting up a self-supporting meal program.
The Public Sector Award is awarded to a citizen who, in the course of their employment or funding, serves the public with government and/or public monies. Recipients are usually employed by a government agency, hold a political office, or have their good works funded in the course of their employment. An example of a past recipient would be a state senator who has worked towards promoting the good of the community.
The Humanitarian Award is awarded to a citizen, private or public, who has done exceptional work to further the good of humanity in the community. Past Recipients include a nurse who set up a hospice program in the area.
The Vocational Service Award is awarded to a citizen, private or public, who has done exceptional work to promote vocational education and vocational programs.
PUBLIC SECTOR, PRIVATE SECTOR, HUMANITARIAN, AND VOCATIONAL
SERVICES AWARD NOMINATIONS
SERVICES AWARD NOMINATIONS
Public Sector Award Nominees
NAME(S) Reason for Nomination
Private Sector Award Nominees
NAME(S) Reason for Nomination
Bill Kany
Humanitarian Award Nominees
NAME(S) Reason for Nomination
Vocational Service Nominees
NAME(S) Reason for Nomination
Our club is busy and doing great work. The Raised Bed Garden project, led by Ken Farley, is going well. We have 12 applications for the 20 raised bed gardens that we have budget for. Speaking of budget, Moody's Nursery has very generously offered to provide us soil and seedlings at their cost, which will help. Please do save the date for the Saturday mornings of 5/14 & 5/21 to help deliver, set up and fill these great little gardens that help provide food security for area families in need.
Very pleased to report that the CK Burns School Ukraine Fundraiser was a great success, with students raising more than $1,000, which our Club will match. We will hold a check presentation at CK Burns on Tuesday April 26 at 1:25PM. All are welcome.
The Rotaract Club at UNE has wrapped up meetings for the year, with more than 500 volunteer hours!
Next week's speakers are John Bouchard of the Saco Bay Club, together with Margo Walsh of MaineWorks. You won't want to miss this meeting, which will be an interesting discussion of opioid recovery in Maine, what other clubs are doing, and how we can help, all part of Red Ribbon week.
Happy Dollars:
Heather Gendron: oldest daughter promoted to MRI Tech, and bought first house!
Kim: happy $10, for Whimsical ME being such a go-to resource of a store; and happy $5, drove over a pylon (not a Pilon) at Chick-Fil-A... and it wasn't the first time 😀
Jen F: Hakim's son got a great job at RW Gillespie
Conrad: had a great 11 day trip to Georgia
Karen: daughter is doing great and credits "CEO Mom"
Jim L: Diverse Anecdote (Karen's company) joined the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce!
Cheri: has been living in the area for 2 years now, found a camper site for the summer, and will do a seasonal rental for the winter, it is a real wakeup call about the lack of affordable housing
Bill P: back from Corpus Christi TX, great weather, went to air show
Melissa: son auditioned for a play with the Portland Players and was cast in a leading role
Ken has been busy with his new hobby of winemaking, sounds like time for an after hours event!
See you Wednesday at Jim's!
This is US Army veteran Ashley C (on the right) with the owner of Independence Food Truck, Melissa.We donated $500 to Ashley for wilderness firefighter certification training & travel,and Melissa provided a free lunch!- Charitable Committee: Last week, we made charitable donations to a veteran to help cover the cost of a new wildland firefighter training program, and to an autism walk.
- Program notes: We'll be at Dizzy Birds this week (as well as all through May). Our speaker this week is Margo Walsh of MaineWorks, together with John Bouchard of the Saco Bay Club on the topic of recovery friendly workplaces. Next week, we will have Rachel Stern from the US Fish & Wildlife Service, on the topic of business practices and environmental conservation.
- Raised Bed program
This Wednesday, we have a new member induction (Shelley Kane), great food and fellowship as always, and speakers on opioid recovery for Red Ribbon week, as mentioned above. PE Brenda will run the meeting while I get the Zoom experience.We have scheduled 3 Saturdays in May as volunteer opportunities. Please be a part of one or all of these opportunities. They are a lot of fun.Saturday, May 7th 9:00 am to Noon - Build 15 raised garden beds at Rotary Park for Biddeford Community GardensSaturday May 14 9:00 am to Noon - Install raised garden beds. Locations to be determined. The plan is to have two teams of at least 4 members each install 4-5 beds.Saturday May 21 9:00 am to Noon - Install raised garden beds. Locations to be determined. The plan is to have two teams of at least 4 members each install 4-5 beds.
We had an excellent and interesting presentation from Amalie Sonneborn & Lily Collins from The Ecology School. There was very good Q&A and discussion. Here is a link to their website. They are growing and hiring.
Happy Dollars (the SAA issued no fines but ordered that all, without exception, must give something they are happy about):
Amalie from The Ecology School: has a new puppy
Lily from The Ecology School: almost gardening season
Melissa: great picture of grandchild
Dr. Joe: Grandson Noah is coming to visit
Mike Burman: spring is here
Jeremy Ray: gave a very generous happy $50 to be back at an in-person meeting
Jim Godbout: happy for the spirit of Courage and that we are meeting together
Cheri: $3 -- had a great visit to California, and Project Alliance Youth Summit is coming up
Joyce Valenti, happy $10, a tribute to her late husband who passed away a year ago today, and was a lifelong Rotarian who led a lifetime of Service Above Self
Marty: happy to see everybody, good food, good meeting, good speakers
CJ: happy to be back
Peggy: happy to be back
Joe Fullmer: nice to see the ducks and geese back on Peter Pond
Jen: Marty forgot to write it down
Kathy Shea: happy for the spirit of kindness and pay-it-forward that the Club exemplifies
On 3/23/2022, we had a very compelling presentation from PDG Sergii Zavadskii of RC Kyiv. This was our largest Zoom meeting ever, with members of our club, and clubs all over the world, adding up to more than 100 people. We had attendees from at least six countries (USA, Ukraine, Canada, Jordan, UK, & Romania).
There are 62 Rotary Clubs in Ukraine, eleven of them in Kyiv alone. During the presentation, Sergii, who is an executive in the chemicals business and has two sons in the military, was not in Kyiv but had taken his grandchildren to a rural, hopefully safer area in western Ukraine near Uzhgorod and zoomed in from there.
Thanks in particular to Roland Gagne and Melissa Cilley for arranging the presentation, and to Brian Dallaire for capably managing such a large meeting.
Sergii showed this map of where clubs are vs the fighting, and attempts clubs are putting together to supply food and medicine:
Today at noon, we'll have a follow up meeting, hosted by Melissa Cilley on Zoom.
Topic: Conversation with Ukrainian teen and her grandmother who fled to Romania
Time: Mar 24, 2022 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Time: Mar 24, 2022 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
PS: missed yesterday's presentation from Sergii? Here's how to access the recording:
Meeting Recording temporarily on Zoom:
Access Code: ?U4Yj#^V
Alternatively Rotary Zone Representative Steve Miller posted it on YouTube for us at this link:
Dear Rotary friends,
Following yesterday's presentation by Dacian Coita, Roland and I discussed ways we could help as a Club. Marty is already working on a Club donation. Additionally, we'd like to make it easy for you to personally support Ukrainian mothers and their children who are escaping the violence.
If you would like to help through ANY level of donation, please do so through one of the following two methods before next Tuesday, March 8th:
1) Venmo your donation to @Treasurer-BSRC and add "Ukraine support" when it asks you "What's if for?"
2) Drop off your check at Apex Youth Connection. We have a donation box for donor forms in the back of the building if you come by at night or over the weekend. Please write the check to Biddeford-Saco Rotary (NOT to Apex Youth Connection!), and add "Ukraine support" in the note. I will gather the checks and deliver them to Sue on Tuesday.
Your donation of any amount will be combined with all other Rotary gifts and we will send them together for a powerful impact! Please dig deep and give. If you have seen the footage of children pulled away from their fathers, brothers, and grandfathers who they may never see again, you know how much they need us. Just to know we care will give them strength. Thank you!
We are now open for sell, sell. sell! We are off to a great start almost $1,000 in the first few days.
Here are the stats:
Member Leaderboard
RANK
MEMBER NAME
AMOUNT RAISED
01
MG
Martin Grohman
Peace Keepers
$2,584
02
WP
William Paterson
The Funsters
$1,215
03
RG
Roland Gagne
Peace Keepers
$1,287
04
SM
Steve Morin
Sap Suckers
$1,000
05
KS
Kathy Shea
The Funsters
$655
Team Leaderboard
RANK
01
Peace Keepers $4,820
02
Sap Suckers $3,959
03
The Funsters $2,466
04
Sticky and Sweet $2,356
05
Sweet Leaf $711
Member Prizes
Top Member Marty Grohman
Paul Harris Fellow Pin
1,000 Paul Harris Fellow Recognition points will be transferred to your name.
Happy New Year! I'm excited for 2022, and it gives me a chance to provide some updates on goings-on at our Biddeford Saco Rotary Club:
- We have a new member proposed, Phillip Mateja. He is sponsored by Heather Gendron. Phil is a Realtor and has volunteered with the National Athletic Trainers Association and the Knights of Columbus. He has been to a few meetings and was approved for membership by the board at our December meeting. However, I did not do a good job of "posting" or announcing his prospective membership at our last two meetings (our process for new members is attend a meeting as a guest, be placed on the agenda for board approval, followed by announcing or "posting" the proposed new member at two consecutive club meetings, then induction at a meeting). So, if you have concerns about adding Phil to our club, please contact me ASAP, otherwise he will be inducted at our meeting this Wednesday January 5 at Ricetta's at 12:15.
- Speaking of new members, it has really been great to see you stepping up and getting so involved with our programs, and bringing new energy to our group. Volunteering and getting involved is the best way to get to know the Club, and you have been doing that. Welcome!
- More volunteer opportunities: Wreaths Across America is seeking our help at St Joseph's Cemetery on Saturday January 15 at 9AM to pick up the wreaths we placed last month. Cold, unglamorous work -- our specialty :)
- Before too long it will be time for our Raised Bed Gardens to be built and delivered. Look for a note from Ken Farley about that in the next couple weeks. We hope to provide as many as fifteen or twenty "gardens ready to go" for area families in need this year. The work involves building, delivering, and filling the raised beds with dirt. Again with the unglamorous work.
- Someone who does a lot of unglamorous work for the Club but doesn't always get much mention is Brian Dallaire. Thank you Brian for setting up all the Zooms, the meeting invites, and the website.
- Please do register for our weekly lunch if you get the chance. It helps us plan. But then we always have extra food, so don't hesitate to just show up if your plans change -- we love to see you.
- Omicron is a wild card. We do have masks available at the restaurant, will make them more prominent, and Zoom is always an option which seems to be working fairly well. We'll be discussing this at the Board meeting Wednesday morning, so please bring your ideas and concerns to your favorite board member (listed on the left column of the website).
- Our signature holiday program Adopt-A-Family was a great success. We helped a record number of families, a total of 97 children. So rewarding. Thank you for participating, and thanks again to Karen Chasse and Heather Gendron for coordinating. All this was made possible by our Raffle, which was a huge success, and provided us the budget to give the most we've ever given this year.
- Speaking of thanks, here's to our nominating committee for developing a strong slate of officers for 2022 (starting in July). As we head into our 102nd year of Service Above Self, we'll be in good hands.
- Sometimes I don't do enough to mention our international activities. Lots of communities around the world can use our help, and Roland Gagne does an amazing job keeping us involved.
Internationally, we have two projects underway:
- Monday, January 3rd (today!) at 9AM we’ll be holding a Zoom meeting with Rotarians in Uganda; a local Portland, ME environmental engineer; and two community members from Biddeford to discuss/review water project proposals received for a hydrogeological study for a community near the borders of Rwanda and DRC. Our club will be helping fund and support this project. Any Rotarians interested in joining the Zoom meeting, email Roland for the link: rotaryroland@gmail.com. And here’s a Google Earth link to the community in Rwanda where the proposed water project is being developed: Rwanda Water Project
- The Children’s Rescue Center in Kisumu, Kenya is in need of support for orphaned children being cared for at the center. We continue to engage with the center to understand the most pressing needs that we can support. Anyone interested in joining the discussion, email Roland at rotaryroland@gmail.com.
- Looking ahead, we have exciting programs in the works. For example, in March we'll be doing our Maple Syrup fundraiser. It was a big success last year thanks to Roland Gagne, and we have it in the works again this year, so don't buy any syrup between now and then... also, in late April, we are looking at a new event, together with the Rotary District 7780 Recovery Initiative, called a "Recovery Workforce Job Fair"... In May, We'll be back at St. Joseph's Cemetery, where together with students from Biddeford Schools, we place flags on veterans graves for Memorial Day... and in June we'll have our essay contest, which provides a chance for student authors to show their stuff. Lastly, coming up soon, we'll be looking for volunteers to help sort, organize and hang pictures and historical articles at the newly renovated lodge at West Brook Skating Rink. More with the unglamorous work.
The nominating committee made up of Paul Deschambeault, Kathy Shea, Morgan Stoner, Kristen Lane and myself have met and agreed to make the following nominations at tomorrow's weekly meeting:
Vice President - Melissa Cilley
Secretary - Julie Villemaire
Treasurer - Susan Gajewski
Director - Haley Thompson
Director - Ken Farley
Once these nominations are made, President Marty will open the floor for nominations. Should you wish to nominate anyone for an open position you can do so at the meeting tomorrow or by forwarding the name of a nominee to President Marty prior to the election at next week's meeting. The election of officers is scheduled for next Wednesday, December 15th during our regular weekly meeting.
Should you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me or President Marty.
News of the Saco Food Pantry |
About the Pantry: Location: 67 Ocean Park Road, Saco, ME Phone: 207-468-1305 (during business hours only) Mail: PO Box 246, Saco ME 04072 Email: meals@sacofoodpantry.org Like Us on Facebook Hours: Monday – Friday 9 – 10:30 am, Last Tuesday of the month 5 – 6:30 pm Board Members: President: John White Chairperson & Rec. Secretary: Toni Clark Treasurer: Ron Bolduc Corresponding Secretary: John Reynolds Members: Gwen Adams, Grace Farr, Dustin Nadeau, Jodi-Marie McCarthy, Sharon McKenna Molleur, Katy Nicketakis, Sheldon Nightingale, and Shelice Wilson Requirements for Clients: While the pandemic is upon us, we have dropped the requirement that clients be Saco residents (we now have approximately 30% from other towns). We estimate that we give 18 meals to each family member. Working with Age Friendly Saco, delivery is possible for folks who cannot get to the pantry. Foods We Need Most
| Feeding people: 2020-21 Fiscal Year: 2,116 families, 5,579 people, (1,580 children and 784 seniors) 100,422 meals. Our numbers have gone down since the pandemic, so, we are giving out more food. In addition, we are working with Age Friendly Saco to deliver to folks who cannot get to the pantry. Surplus has also been shared with Youth Full Maine over the past several months as we worked alongside school meal distributions. Pantry Workers: Paid staff: 0 Volunteers: 50 approx. Covid - changes We require all volunteers and clients to follow CDC guidelines with masks and social distancing. Before the pandemic, clients came into the pantry and were taken around to select the food they needed. This cut down food waste. Now, clients select the food they need from a list, and volunteers bring the food selected to the client’s car. The list of non-perishables can be downloaded from our website. Goals 2022
|
Pantry Food Sources:
We get food from many sources.
< >Good Shepherd Food Bank sells us food – roughly 6 pounds of food for each dollar.Hannaford and Shaws donate perishables that are nearing their Use-by Date.TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program from the federal government) gives us significant amounts of food every other month. We average 20,000 – 30,000 pounds of food yearly in donations through food drives (our own, those sponsored by other groups and individual donations).We pay a small annual fee to Wayside (Portland) and pick up food monthly.For items we cannot get from the above sources, we purchase in Hannaford or Shaws (occasionally Market Basket). A board member studies items on sale. Since the pandemic struck, it has not been possible to buy in bulk the way we once did.Other expenses include transportation, energy bills, maintenance, insurance, and cleaning. On average, 70% of our monthly expenditures go to food.
Open Hands, Open Heart:
Open Hands Open Heart is an outreach program located adjacent to the Saco Food Pantry. The organization was founded by Elaine Fournier in 2008. Its mission is to provide clothing for needy children in York County.
Location: 67 Ocean Park Road, Saco, ME (next door to the pantry)
Hours: Tues., Wed. and Thurs. 9:30 – 11:30 am & last Tues. of the month 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Phone: 207-286-9939(during business hours only)
Mail: PO Box 246, Saco ME 04072
Web: http://www.openheartsaco.org
Volunteers Needed
We are always seeking new volunteers to help from 1 or more days a week. Almost all work is done in the mornings. There are 4 main types of jobs - food pickup and storage, perishables processed, shelves restocked, and clients helped. If you are interested, contact Lynn (207) 494-8662 lsteed203@gmail.com and/or Sheldon snight52@gmail.com.
Ways to donate:
Please specify where donation is to be applied (Saco Food Pantry, or Open Hands, Open Heart)
< >By check – mail to Saco Food Pantry, PO Box 246, Saco, ME 04072Website – www.sacofoodpantry.org (can donate by credit card)Amazon – go to smile.amazon.com and select Saco Food Pantry for your charity. Amazon donates a portion of their profits directly to the pantrywww.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1283706There is a secure donation slot outside of the pantry.
John Reynolds:
My wife and I retired from teaching in independent schools in New York City in 2009 and moved full-time to our home in Biddeford. I taught math and computers to middle school students. We wanted to do volunteering here in Maine and took our therapy dogs to visit folks in local nursing homes.We also volunteered at the Animal Welfare Society in West Kennebunk. A dear friend got us involved in the Saco Food Pantry, and I was asked to become a board member around 2015, becoming Corresponding Secretary in 2017. When Covid came along, we had to stop going to nursing homes and AWS, but happily continued with the pantry. We are also part of the Gems (Geriatric Education Mentor) program at UNE, mentoring medical students. We also play with the Village Ringers, a local bell choir.
To watch the presentation, click the zoom recording:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/P6MAT4fVJdN3uw0EXkHCJPZSfEbyI5rU61rZC705n3xMZPvnwYyvJDRHW8lH2S4h.CtbIicl2ejn34BDc
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/P6MAT4fVJdN3uw0EXkHCJPZSfEbyI5rU61rZC705n3xMZPvnwYyvJDRHW8lH2S4h.CtbIicl2ejn34BDc
Passcode: 1ThpIw@8
Brenda has worked to develop a catalog of Rotary Logo Clothing through Brady's of Biddeford. Several items are available for purchase. We will be placing the order with them all at once.
Now available and place your individual orders online at http://go.rotary7780gives.org/16a793 so Brenda may make the master order.
We would prefer to receive payment via cash, check to club or via Venmo(@Treasurer-BSRC). This will save on the website processing fees.
CLYNK bags are available at Whimsical Me on Main Street Saco. Stop into Heather’s store to pick-up several bags. Drop your bags off at the CLYNK DEPOSITORY In the Hannaford Shopping Center. Scan the bag tag on the outside of the door and place the bag inside Help us support Roland Gagne’s school in Kenya. A few cans and bottles goes a long way to improve the lives of these children. Let’s fulfill our commitment. .
Thank you
Roland
Our Club is in first place of 10 Rotary Clubs who participate in this program! But Saco Bay is gaining on us.
Rotary Club of Biddeford Saco
Total Raised
$3,219.35
Containers CLYNKed
57,186
Saved enough energy to light 79.9 lightbulbs—24 hours a day—for a year.
Saved the emissions equivalent of driving a car 15,124 miles.
Diverted enough containers to fill 581.5 lobster traps.
Fill up those green bags. If you need more bags and/or labels, just let Julie Villemaire know and she can hook you up…no charge!
Simple fill with returnables and drop off at any Hannaford.
Alternately, if you already have a CLYNK account of your own, you can designate you funds as a donation. Hit the Donate button and search for Rotary and you'll find our account.
Service Above Self
Biddeford, ME 04005
United States of America