Blog
September 2023: The Latest from PORCH
- Our Burmese families received okra, roselle greens, sweet potato greens, and water spinach, thanks to our partnership with the incredible Transplanting Traditions.
- In August, we had 564 participants enrolled in our Food for Families program – more than 2,300 individuals with more than 1,300 of those being children. With children being out of school for the summer, we continued to increase the amount of food provided to help ensure there are fresh and healthy options while they are home. Our volunteers packed a total of 434 non-perishable food bags that were loaded into our participants’ cars, along with a gallon of milk, two dozen eggs, a large box of fresh fruits and vegetables, tomatoes that were generously donated from Wildflower Lane Farm, watermelon from Farmer Foodshare, a bag of produce for our Burmese families from Transplanting Traditions Community Farm. We also provided a grocery gift card. A special thanks to our pantry delivery volunteers for helping us deliver 97 bags of non-perishable items to nine of our Food For Pantry partners! We are grateful to everyone who pitched in. It truly takes a small village to get an incredible amount of work done in four days!
- We were fortunate to be able to distribute birthday kits to 20 participant families thanks to a generous donation by a local family. The response was heartwarming, with many big smiles and excited faces – and we heard several exclamations of “it’s my birthday tomorrow” or “her birthday was yesterday!” Seeing their delighted faces was the best gift!
- Board Member Lenore Jones-Peretto and her sons joined us to sort and pack last month.
- The Chapel Hill High football team recently volunteered with us, doing a lot of heavy lifting in extreme heat. We are so appreciative!
- Poonam Pande and Karen Thorton are Neighborhood Coordinators in Silver Creek. They had a record amount of donations last month! Thanks to all who contributed.
- Jae Moon, an awesome distribution volunteer, shows his PORCH spirit with color coordinated sneakers!
- Representatives from the United Way of the Greater Triangle joined us at our sort and pack in September. They came to see us in action and to learn how the funding from their Community Impact Grant will be put to good use! Pictured: Eric Guckian, Dave Mills, Nathan Snowden, Nicole Coscolluela, and Jeff Howell. Also pictured from our team: Erin Riney, Lenore Jones-Peretto, and Linda Browner.