Volunteer Newsletter – April 2025
A day late but the intention is real!
This has been a busy month preparing for our annual Post Office Food Drive. We were fortunate to have individuals and groups of volunteers from Lathrop Community, Mount Holyoke College and St John’s Episcopal Church stuffing 6000 thousand shopping bags with our POFD flyers. Now they are ready to be distributed to residences throughout Northampton and Florence. And the big day, May 10th will be upon us soon!
Exciting NSC Program news:
On April 17th, NSC and Grow Food Northampton teamed up for a test run of a new program we’ll be starting this summer. Our organizations are working together to apply for a grant that will allow us to continue to provide excellent fresh produce for our clients. Our test run was a success! We invited community organizations and resources to join us to create a fun and engaging atmosphere. Northampton Neighbors and the Northampton Public Health nurses joined us too, with the nurses giving out free COVID-19 tests and performing blood pressure screenings.
Starting in June, this test run will become a reality. NSC and GFN will join up at 3 different Northampton Housing Authority properties each Thursday to offer fresh produce, frozen meat, dairy options, and more. This is an evolution and merging of our current monthly Meat and Dairy van with our weekly fresh produce deliveries, which will give clients the opportunity to access all their fresh options EVERY WEEK without coming to the Center. Our hope is that after a successful first summer of this program, we’ll be able to expand it to all of our delivery sites and beyond!
We’ll be reaching out shortly to volunteers interested in getting involved with this new on-site food distribution program.
It’s also time to get excited about our Kids Summer Food Program which runs during the months of June, July and August. We increase the amount of food for our clients who have school-aged children. More choices, more food!
There were a few fundraising events for NSC this past month.
It was reported that the Scrabble Tournament on April 13th turned out the largest attendance to date. Thanks to any of our volunteers who participated. Proceeds went to three non-profit organizations. NSC portion of the donations was $750.00.
There was also a pickleball tournament this past weekend that raised $1,336.50 for NSC.
Last week was Volunteer Appreciation Week and I want to again express our gratitude for all you continue to do! If you are a recent volunteer, welcome to the NSC team!
We hope that you will continue to pay attention to all the moments, big and small, challenging and sweet. Enjoy what you can and help when you can. Know that the work you do is making a difference!
Volunteer Spotlight:
Elly Alexander – Elly has been volunteering since 2022
I play trumpet in the Florence Community band. Yesterday we had our spring concert at Northampton high School where we collected canned foods as the entrance fee.
I also work with refugees through Catholic Charities. Last week I helped two Afghan couples sign up for groceries. The men work at Grace Paint and Tile in Florence. I’m currently helping them find more permanent housing. Also, jobs for the women.
I also serve on the NSC program committee. Oh, and I’m the librarian at Lander Grinspoon Academy.
Volunteer Anniversaries:
Bob Haxby – 1 year
Linda Schwartz – 3 years
EB Lehman – 9 years
Dave Bickford – 11 years
Leslie Stein – 12 years
The Northampton Survival Center has been invited to be a vendor at the Northampton Senior Center’s 20th Annual Health Fair on May 21, 2025, from 10am to 1pm. Community Outreach- looking for a volunteer from 11:30-1:30
Pantry Fresh – This month’s PF recipe seemed to be a big hit with clients and also volunteers, some of whom took the recipe to try for themselves. Please let us know your thoughts if you make one of the dishes!
Pantry Fresh recipe link
https://www.northamptonsurvival.org/pantryfresh/
Better Impact is the volunteer database where the schedule is posted and where volunteers can sign themselves up or remove themselves from a shift. The June through September sign-ups will be available soon. Please familiarize yourself with the site if you haven’t done so already.
Better Impact link:
https://app.betterimpact.com/Login/LoginNoSearch?agencyGuid=65faad77-baa1-465f-99d7-fe0303e55ac6
Volunteer Handbook:
https://www.northamptonsurvival.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/NSC-Volunteer-Handbook-January-2025.pdf