That’s a lotta pasta!
We recently put out an SOS call on Facebook upon reaching critically low supplies of pasta sauce and pasta, and our friends in the community stepped up in a way we could never have imagined. Our pantry director Michelle Lepak was thrilled upon receiving approximately 2,500 pounds of donations – more than $4,000 worth of groceries that directly benefit Circle clients! Thank you to everyone who helped support this effort. Information about food and in-kind giving and our specific needs is available on our website: https://www.circleofconcern.org/ways-to-help/food-in-kind-giving/.
October 2019 E-News:
Shine On, Harvest Moon!
Farm stands and the full harvest moon are markers of the turn of the year. Fold in a Friday the 13th, and you’ve got magic! That’s exactly what you’ll find at Circle’s Harvest Moon Trivia Night on Friday, September 13!
Registration is now open for this popular event. Besides ten rounds of challenging trivia, a couple of features are new this year. First, we’ve moved! This year’s event will take place at Andre’s West in Fenton (211 S. Old Highway 141), giving your team plenty of space to play.
Other big news is that your admission price of $30 includes an OPEN BAR! Choose a favorite beer, wine, well drink or soft drink to compliment your own trivia table snacks! Bring your sharpest cronies to fly through rounds of easy and not-so-easy trivia questions on topics as far ranging as fruits of the harvest to superstitions to local lore and so much more!
Plan to join us on Friday, September 13 for Harvest Moon Trivia. All proceeds benefit Circle’s food pantry. Register yourself, a table or a sponsorship (each of which includes a table for 10!) by CLICKING HERE.
August 2019 E-News:
Gathered Around the Table
A new client usually walks into Circle of Concern alone. Anxious, desperate and maybe embarrassed about needing help, new people often feel like they are alone at the bottom of a well of sadness. From that point, though, clients aren’t isolated anymore, thanks to a wellspring of volunteer help with food and programs, along with our staff that lines up resources.
The circle is bigger than that, though. Along with our generous donors in the community, a critical group, of which Circle is a member, is working behind the scenes to serve families impacted by hunger and poverty across the region – the St. Louis Food Pantry Coalition. Working from the point of view that, unfortunately, there are more than enough hungry people in our area to keep us all busy, the dozen members of the Coalition gather monthly to share ideas and opportunities about many topics, including:
- Enlisting volunteers
- Raising funds
- Vetting vendors
- Sharing excess food donations
- Sharing best practices in pantry management
The Coalition was instrumental last year in Circle’s launching of the Client Choice pantry model. A committee of Circle staff and volunteers visited other Choice pantries in the coalition for insight into how others implemented this best practice. With that input, we launched Choice with minimal down-time and immediate success for our clients. According to Michelle Lepak, Circle’s Pantry Director, the Coalition has offered valuable collaboration. “Sharing information, ideas and resources makes us all more effective in feeding families and promoting stability for those who are struggling. We value this group so much.”
August 2019 E-News:
Garden of Goodness.
Gardeners are patient people. It can feel like forever from the time a tiny seed or plant becomes a perfectly ripe tomato, but patience makes the time pass. About six years have passed since Parkway Southwest Middle School first broke ground on a new community garden and made plans to share fresh produce with Circle. Since that time, the program has grown to provide hundreds of pounds of produce, offering variety and wholesome foods to Circle clients.
During the school year, the fruits and vegetables are used by the school cafeteria or are devoured out-of-hand by students eager to taste their first homegrown strawberry! More than just a place to grow food, the garden is used by various classes for focused learning – by home economics classes, as a science lab, by shop classes to build raised bed and bird houses and as an outdoor classroom, thanks to the ring of the tree trunk stools.
Many thanks to the students and faculty of Southwest Middle, community volunteers who support the students during the summer, Gateway Greening and, especially, to Greenscape Gardens Nursery that generously provides any supplies needed in the garden. You all are truly gardening for good!
August 2019 E-News:
Husband and wife duo are shining examples of devotion to service
Carl and Betty Quicksall were among a small group of volunteers recently honored by Circle with the President’s Lifetime Volunteer Service Award, having each logged over 4,000 hours of service at Circle of Concern! And while the time served by this extraordinary couple is astounding, the work they have done – and continue to do — is even more so.
Betty is a long-time case worker, helping our clients to access emergency financial assistance, counseling, housing and various services at Circle and beyond our doors. She is a passionate client advocate, often handling the most difficult family circumstances; and she does so with patience, compassion and vigor.
She also leads our Summer Opportunities Program, ensuring that eligible children and youths get to access fun, enriching (sometimes life-changing) summer camp programs.
One of her most notable roles at Circle was Board President – a position she held for ten years! “I am happy to say there is now a term limit,” she says!
Carl has long managed Circle’s IT department. He is a self-trained programmer, a life-long learner, and frankly… “darn near irreplaceable here at Circle,” says executive director Cyndi Miller. Working both onsite and remotely, Carl addresses IT tasks and challenges seven days a week. He recently led a seamless building-wide upgrade of software and hardware for 22 work stations throughout Circle.
Together, this devoted duo has served a total of 49 years at Circle! And while this humble pair is less than impressed with their “big award,” we can assure them that their fellow volunteers, our Board and our staff are grateful — and in awe of their devotion to “all things Circle!”
Thank you! COC’s 15th Annual Golf Tournament
St. Mark’s Presbyterian’s 15th annual golf tournament benefiting Circle of Concern was a huge success! We greatly appreciate our sponsors, staff, and volunteers who worked so hard the day of and the many months leading up to the event.
We are so grateful to St. Mark Presbyterian Church for hosting a successful, sold-out tournament for Circle. It’s the 15th year that the church has hosted the event! The tournament raised nearly $25,000.00. Many, many thanks to our Chairperson, Debbie Brown; our committee; Aberdeen Golf Club; our lead sponsor – Orthopedic Specialists; and all the golfers, volunteers and sponsors!
June 2019 eNewsletter Articles
- Back to School Already?
- Save the Date! Harvest Moon Trivia Night
- Stars in Their Eyes
- Thank you! COC’s 15th Annual Golf Tournament
Stars in Their Eyes
Circle of Concern’s scholarship program has bolstered the academic goals of area young people since at least the second year of our existence. Well over $1 million has helped send hundreds of motivated high school seniors to college, launching them into the careers of their choice.
In 2014, the scholarship program grew. For the first time, Circle awarded small scholarships to adult clients…and the results have been stellar. What started as a vehicle for clients to obtain additional certification, or take an extra class, has evolved into something so much more.
- We assisted one client in completing his accounting degree and taking the CPA exam. He is now employed in his field and is no longer a client.
- Two clients completed their coursework and licensing for Registered Nursing, with help from Circle, and neither needs our services anymore. On a day many of us will never forget, one of these clients came into our office the afternoon she passed her final exam, tears in her eyes. We each got a hug as she thanked everyone for helping make her dream a reality.
- Scholarship awardees want to work. One recipient is pursuing a business degree with a full-time course load at a local university…while working a full-time job…and caring for three children, one of whom is in treatment for cancer.
To say these scholars are worthy of this assistance is to understate how motivated they are to become self-sustained. To say we are proud of their progress and their plans is to understate the intense satisfaction we feel in watching adults change their stars for the better. This program literally changes lives and helps clients to achieve confidence and financial independence. We – and the clients they help – appreciate your support of Circle’s scholarships!
June 2019 eNewsletter Articles
Save the Date! Harvest Moon Trivia Night
Mark your calendars now for Friday, September 13 for our Harvest Moon Trivia Night. For $30 per person, you’ll get a night full of fun (and a few surprises too), open bar with beer, wine, cocktails, and soft drinks! This event will be here before we know it so reserve your table today.
June 2019 eNewsletter Articles
Back to School Already?
While most families are preparing for summer break, Circle of Concern is already thinking back to school. Our team is hard at work gathering school supplies to share with hundreds of our clients’ children come August. How can you help?
Purchasing school supplies many times isn’t in the budget for many of our clients who already struggle to pay for basic items such as groceries and utilities. Each time you go to a grocery or discount store this summer, please pick up a few notebooks (or pens, crayons, markers, lunch bags) or other items that will help our kids feel prepared to study when school starts again.
Children who start the school year with adequate supplies are children who are ready to learn with confidence! Click here for a list of needed items. Donations can be brought to Circle during regular business hours.
June 2019 eNewsletter Articles
Show how much you care with personal care
Local Girl Scout troops will be out and about in early April distributing bags to fill with personal care items that will directly benefit Circle’s clients. The ‘April Showers’ campaign collects items such as shampoo, toothpaste, soap, shaving cream, diapers, toilet paper, and deodorant – all items that Circle’s clients can choose from when they visit the pantry.
Personal care support is critical because, if a client is enrolled in the food stamp, or SNAP, program, those dollars can’t be used for such everyday items as toilet paper, soap or deodorant.
Scouts will put a plastic bag on your door on or about April 6 this year, and they’ll pick them up on April 13, hopefully full of new hygiene items you can share. This HUGE collection provides most of the personal care items we share in a whole year. Over the past few months, we have run short on deodorant and included it on our list of Current Needs. From two nearly empty boxes, our supply of this critical care items has grown to 14 full milk crates, thanks to our readers who respond with such generosity. Many thanks to you!
