To the Editor:

The Community Lunch Program For Kids would like to express their sincerest appreciation to the Northern New York Community Foundation for the very generous LEAD Grant we received this spring.

The grant money was specifically requested for our My Brothers’ Keeper Program. This program allows the Community Lunch Program for Kids to assist individuals and families in need within the parameters of the Norwood Norfolk Central School District. Though CLPK was set up to assist local children facing food insecurity, our My Brothers’ Keeper Program allows us to also assist other individuals and senior citizens in need.

This very generous grant allowed us to accomplish the following:

-Provide snow pants, or boots and/or winter coats for children enrolled in the CLPK Program

-Provide Rental assistance to a local family with three small children

-Purchase three shopping carts so that local families/seniors, who do not have transportation, are still able to pick up their food from the Norfolk Raymondville Food Pantry’s monthly distribution.

-Provide Walmart Gift Cards to a local family who lost everything in a house fire this spring -Provide a grocery gift check to a woman who was left homeless so she could purchase food.

-Provide grocery gift checks to two different families who were in need of baby formula

The winter boots, coats and snow pants allow these children to not only stay warm on the way to and from school, but allows these children to fully participate in outdoor recess in the winter months.

The homeless woman who received a gift check for food was most appreciative, as were the two families who received the gift checks for baby formula. The family who received the Walmart gift cards to replace clothing lost in the house fire expressed their appreciation many times over! We were especially pleased to purchase the grocery carts, as this helps senior citizens and local families become more independent in acquiring food.

As appreciative as all the people above were for what they were given, CLPK was even more appreciative and humbled by being able to assist our neighbors in need. This would not have been possible without the NNYCF LEAD Grant given to us by the Northern New York Community Foundation.

Thank you, Northern New York Community Foundation, for helping us help make our little corner of the world a nicer place to live!

Wendy Chambers
Community Lunch Program For Kids