Since we posted this graphic, those numbers have increased to 115,000 cans and more than 4 tons of fresh produce, milk and eggs, meat and poultry! It seems we are both on the march and into a comfortable groove, now providing rather excellent service to our three pantries in the inner city. We have a lot of people to thank for this and we certainly have grateful clients, whose lives have been bettered through the generosity of others.
We are now in the midst of Summer in the City, our second annual summer campaign involving suburban churches stocking our inner city pantries. You see, summer is the toughest — school is out, so we need extra meals for the children — very few other organizations take up collections through the summer — and, if you can believe this, some pantries even close for several weeks to a month for summer vacation! Well, rest assured, our clients do not take a summer vacation, so neither does the Foundation!
We have already collected and delivered more than 18,000 cans this summer and still have a number of churches on our schedule for July and August. Many thanks to the following for participating: St. Peters, Olney, Maryland; Blessed Sacrament, Washington, DC; Church of the Resurrection, Burtonsville, Maryland; St. Nicholas, Laurel, Maryland; Holy Redeemer, Kensington, Maryland; Holy Cross, Garrett Park, Maryland; St. Mary’s, Barnesville, Maryland; St. Mary’s, Rockville, Maryland; St. Elizabeth’s, Rockville, Maryland; St. Francis Xavier, Derwood, Maryland; Our Lady of Mercy, Potomac, Maryland; St. John Neumann, Germantown, Maryland; St. Michael’s, Silver Spring, Maryland; Our Lady of Grace, Silver Spring, Maryland; St. Paul’s, Damascus, Maryland — and several more working their way into the queue! Such tremendous generosity!
Of course, we have continued our signature program of fresh produce (the corn on the cob has been looking good and we get it at a great price by the crate), milk and eggs, meat and poultry. For the latter, we have great wholesale pricing in Hyattsville and Prince Frederick and usually purchase several hundred pounds of frozen meat or poultry at a time. As you can imagine, this had been very well received.
We hope you are making plans to attend A CAPITAL EVENING II, our second annual Gala Dinner and Silent Auction on Friday, November 20, 2015 at the Capital Hilton, 16th and K Streets in the District. Our Gala Chairs — Jodi Moraru, Greta Kreuz, and Susan Reaman — are working hard to produce what we know will be another stellar event. Seats are now available at the same rate as last year ($200) so give us a call — 202.587.5749 or purchase tickets online. The invitations will be mailed right after Labor Day.
We promise some exciting auction items. We already have the following trips confirmed: A week in St. Maarten, 5 days in Maui, 5 days in San Diego and weekends in New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, New Orleans, Orlando — and more! And there are a number of Staycations being offered again, right here in Washington. There are also restaurant packages, spas and salons, gifts of all kinds. The Philippine Ambassador has once again opened his residence for a dinner for ten, and nationally acclaimed personal chef Monica Thomas is on board to offer her culinary magic.
Tom Ruggieri’s combo, Cheek to Cheek will again be entertaining us, and David Piscola’s staff at The Capital Hilton promise another evening of superb food and wine. And, you can once again take the elevator home after the Gala, as the Capital Hilton once again offers a $99 guest room for Gala attendees.
And, we are so excited to inform you that GREYSTONE (www.greyco.com) will be our Diamond Sponsor! The incredible generosity of this altruistic firm ensures that the lion’s share of the proceeds will go to our mission of ensuring we will be able to continue to feed the inner city poor in 2016. Our newest Board Member, Sharon Briskman, has stepped up to the plate in a very big way and we are grateful.
Thank you for your continued support, your generosity and commitment. This journey we have taken together is making a difference for so many families in our Nation’s Capital!
