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Mildred L. Day School Students Build Huge Food Drive Tower

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Congratulations to the Mildred L. Day School in Arundel.  Every year they hold a food drive to celebrate the One Hundred Days of School which happens in February.  Each classroom is assigned a food item like pasta, peanut butter, jelly, canned fruit, soup, cereal, etc.  The class is then challenged to collect at least 100 of the item to be donated to our COS food pantry.  The drive culminates in a school-wide assembly to which we are invited.  The school builds a huge tower of food to present to us along with certificates documenting how many items were collected by each classroom.

Oncephoto again, this year was a tremendous success. The school collected 1,629 items of school that weighed a total of 1,476 pounds.

Thanks to the M. L. Day School our pantry cupboard is loaded right now with wonderful things for our clients.  We are so thankful that the school staff, teachers, children, and parents support us in this impressive way.  Not only does it stock our shelves but it teaches the children about giving back to their community as well as the responsibility we all have to help the less fortunate.

As we were packing up the donations after the assembly to take to the food pantry, one 5th grader approached me to say the he thought this school event was wonderful and awesome and he would miss it so much next year as he moves on to the middle school.  This speaks volumes for the school that the children love this event and will remember the excitement and fun of it as they move through life.  And this is how it should be, that we work to help those in need with a happy attitude.  M. L. Day you are doing a fabulous job with our kids.  Thank you!

Beth Jones, Executive Director

 

Food-4-Thought Backpack Program Expands

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School is bacFood 4 Thoughtk in session after the winter break, and the Food-4-Thought Backpack Program volunteers have resumed packing weekend food packs for participating children at Mildred L. Day elementary school!  The start of 2016 marks the halfway point for the Backpack Program’s first year providing the weekend food packs.  The new year also provides a great opportunity for us to reflect on our program’s f
irst five months and focus on how to best serve the needs in our community.
The roots of the program go back to September 2014, when a small group of community members began meeting to try to find a way to address childhood hunger in our towns.  Over the course of that first year, we developed a unique model for our backpack program, partnered with community members and existing resources, and exceeded our fundraising goal!  We chose Mildred L. Day elementary school to pilot the program, with a goal of extending the program to every school in the district within five years.  Our program provides food packs on Friday afternoons for children to bring home for the weekend.
With the support of a large group of dedicated volunteers and strong community partners, we are excited to be able to offer our Food-4-Thought Backpack Program to other elementary schools in the district before the end of the 2015-2016 school year!  We are thrilled about being able to expand the program ahead of schedule, and will be continuing to explore ways to maximize program participation not only at Mildred L. Day school, but at the other elementary schools as well.
If you, your company, or someone you know would like to support the Food-4-Thought Backpack Program or any of COS’s other community programs, please let us know.
Andrea Brown at andreabrown.thrive@gmail.com for Backpack Program, and
Beth Jones at info@coskennebunks.org for other COS Programs.

50 Local Participating in Giveback Night January 13

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We are pleased to announce that one of Kennebunk’s local businesses will donate to COS 10% of their total sales for the night. So join COS at 50 Local on January 13th from 5pm-on for LOCAL GIVEBACK! Come eat, drink and support a local business and non-profit organization all at the same time. Can’t get any more local than that!

Located in downtown Kennebunk, 50 Local  brings fresh local ingredients in every dish on a menu that changes daily. They are a bistro style restaurant brought to you by local gal Merrilee Paul & her husband David Ross that features the best of the area’s resources. Relying on local farms, fisheries and a commitment to the community, 50 Local is downtown Kennebunk’s neighborhood establishment. 50 Local presents an outstanding, approachable menu containing many of the traditional dishes offered in French bistros with an American take, served in a comfortable, elegant, & friendly atmosphere.

COS exists because of local support from local businesses and members of the community. It truly is a community helping its neighbors in need. Thank you 50 Local for your support. We hope to see you on Wednesday evening, January 13. Come and dine. Cheers!

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PTA Stuff the Bus Food Drive

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food drive helping handsCongratulations to all the PTAs of RSU 21. You really came through for us this year. You collected and delivered 1,170.6 pounds of food. A special thanks to the PTA moms who delivered, sorted and stocked the food in the pantry and a very special thanks to Carol Cook who drove the bus and helped unload. You were all phenomenal and made it so easy for us. We don’t want to overlook the effort put into the drive by the teachers, administrators and students of all the schools, either. And a very special thanks to all the parents of kids who donated. You all worked hard and helped us stock the shelves for the winter.

Thank you, and may your holidays be happy and bright.

Beth Jones, Executive Director

Community Outreach Services