Feed Hungry Local People! Boost Local Independent Businesses! Think Local, Thank Local March 20-April 3, 2009
to benefit
Sponsored by
   2,400 pounds of food collected, $3,000 of money-donation pledges made by 37 Worcester Local First members at
at 49 Worcester locations Shown, left to right, at the Food Bank are: Paul Fontaine of Liberty Movers; Lois Maitland Paire and Jean McMurray of the Food Bank; and Cliff Wilson of Local First. Directly behind them are boxes filled with 1,794 pounds of food items donated during our Think Local, Thank Local campaign. Subsequently, the College of the Holy Cross (see below) and F.W. Madigan donated a combined total of 579 pounds. The final grand total: 2,373 pounds.
Worcester Local First, Fallon Community Health Plan and Worcester Magazine sponsored a Think Local, Thank Local campaign on March 20-April 3 on behalf of the Worcester County Food Bank. We had 37 Local First members, with a total of 49 locations, participating in the campaign. They raised a total of 2,373 pounds of food donations and made a total of $3,000 in money-donation pledges to the Food Bank. Click here for our Google Map showing the locations of Local First members participating in Think Local, Thank Local. Look for this icon: 
Holy Cross, insurance-agency neighbors Thomas J. Woods, Braley & Wellington and Marsh-Woods, and Assumption/Sodexo share Top Donor honors Shown, left to right, in Holy Cross' cafeteria are: Debbie Paquette McDonald, human-resource support associate, and Yazeirys Pena, a sophomore. They helped to organize Holy Cross' food-donation drive, which raised 515 pounds.
The top 3 Think Local, Thank Local donor locations were: The College of the Holy Cross, 515 pounds; Thomas J. Woods Insurancy, Braley & Wellington Insurance Agency and Marsh-Kemp Insurance Agency, which neighbor each other on Park Avenue and partnered together for this campaign; and Assumption College and its food-service vendore, Sodexo . Liberty Movers, whose president, Paul Fonatine, is a Founding Friend of Worcester Local First, donated its trucks and drivers to distribute and collect food-donation containers for all 49 of our campaign locations. The Food Bank serves more than 380,000 people a year in Worcester County with more than 5 million pounds of food valued at more than $7 million. The Food Bank has an annual operating budget of only about $1.7 million. For every $1 of donation received, the Food Bank distributes $6 worth of food because 100% of the food is donated. The cash donations received are used only for administration (5%) and transportation, and 100% of all cash donations stay local.For more information or questions regarding our Think Local, Thank Local campaign, contact Steve Jones-D'Agostino of Worcester Local First at 508-930-8675 or
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
. For information or questions regarding food donations, contact Lois Maitland-Paire of the Worcester County Food Bank at 508-842-3663 or
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
. Shown, left to right, are: Tom McLear of Marsh-Kemp Insurance Agency; Jack Woods of Thomas J. Woods Insurance Agency; and Bill Braley of Braley & Wellington Insurance Agency. Working together, these three Park Avenue neighbors collected 497 pounds of food during our Think Local, Thank Local campaign.
Shown, left to right, in Assumption College's cafeteria are: Jason Hamalainen of Liberty Movers; Michael Ward of Sodexo; Christopher DeFosse of Liberty Movers; and Monica Abdella of Sodexo. In front of them, are boxes containing the 368 pounds of food donated by the Assumption community during our Think Local, Thank Local campaign.
 Click here for our Google Map showing the locations of Local First members participating in Think Local, Thank Local. Look for this icon. 
Click here to view a February 19, 2009 New York Times article titled "Newly Poor Swell Lines at Food Banks.
 Click here to view a March 5, 2009 Telegram & Gazette article on our Think Local, Thank Local Campaign Kickoff Party at the Beechwood Hotel, which provided complimentary hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar.
Click here for audio of an interview on WTAG/580 AM and WTAG/94.9 FM on March 20 with Jack Hyland of Fallon Community Health Plan by Jim Polito regarding Think Local, Thank Local.
Click here for audio of an interview on WCRN/830 AM on March 18 with Jack Hyland of Fallon Community Health Plan and Jean McMurray of the Worcester County Food Bank by Hank Stolz regarding Think Local, Thank Local.  Click here to watch Jack Hyland of Fallon Community Health Plan and Joe Gardner of the Worcester County Food Bank be interviewed by Mauro DePasquale regarding Think Local, Thank Local, on "Soapbox" on WCCA-TV/Channel 13. The 30-minute episode is available 24/7 in MP4 format. 
Click here for MP3 audio of our 30-second radio spot, which is airing on WCRN/830 AM, with time availabilities provided by Worcester Magazine and production resources provided by WCRN, as well as on WTAG/580 AM & 94.9 FM and WSRS/96.1 FM.
Campaign details Here are the Local First members in participating in Think Local, Thank Local. Included, are the special offers these members provided to their customers who donated food to the Food Bank between March 20-April 3 at their locations. -
- Assumption College - Hagan Campus Center & Taylor Dining Hall - One free lunch in Taylor Dining Hall to each member of the Assumption community who donates four canned goods at the Taylor Dining Hall location.
- Bay State Savings Bank - Burncoat St., Eastern Ave., Franklin St., Grafton St., Mill St.- Raffle for two $50 tickets ($100 total value) to Taste of the Nation on April 27. For each food donation you make at Bay State Savings Bank you make, you will be entered in the raffle.
- Becker College - Worcester & Leicester campuses
- Beechwood Hotel
- Braley-Wellington Insurance Agency
- C.C. Lowell - One 10% discount off the entire sale with each donation of three items of food.
- College of the Holy Cross – Fenwick Hall
- Commerce Bank & Trust - Main St., Grafton St., Park Ave. North, Park Ave. South
- Commonwealth National Bank - Waldo St., West Boylston St.
- Echobrook Nursery
- EcoTarium
- Elgon Information Systems
- F.W. Madigan
- Fallon Community Health Plan
- Framed In Tatnuck- $1 off, up to 20% of a Custom Frame Order, for each item of donated food
- Futon Company
- George's Coney Island Hot Dogs – One George's Coney Island Hot Dogs postcard for each donation
- Goddard House
- Guertin Graphics & Awards
- Herbert Berg Florist
- KJ Baaron's Fine Wines & Spirits
- L.B. Wheaton
- Magay & Barron Eye Center - One "Eyeglass Tuneup" (ultrasonic cleaning, adjusting, tightening) and one two-ounce bottle of Magay & Barron Lens Cleaner with each donation
- Martin Luther King Jr. Business Empowerment Center
- Marsh-Kemp Insurance Agency
- On The Rise Baking - One small cup of coffee and one cookie for only $1.50 (plus tax), for each donation of 3 canned goods.
- Percy's TV & Appliance
- Plante Opticians
- Porro's at the Square - One 20%-off coupon for any accessory in the store, for each donation
- Rotmans Furniture
- Spiritual Haze
- Thomas J. Woods Insurance Agency - $2 cash donation to the Food Bank for every pound of food donated at our location.
- Union Music
- Worcester Art Museum - Free admission with each food donation.
- Worcester Credit Union - West Boylston St., Worcester Technical High School
- Worcester State College
 The Harlequin Restaurant, located on the Lower Level of the Beechwood Hotel. Taste it again for the first time! We opened on February 18 with a new tastefully updated dining room, a fresh wine list featuring wines from around the world, and comforting new menus, including new Prix Fixe selections. Enjoy the combined talents of Chef Jonathan Powers of the Beechwood and Chef Steve Champagne of Niche Hospitality Group. We found our Niche, you should too!
|
