Every day Whelen Engineering works to produce life saving products, but on holidays they make an extra effort to make a difference, by donating food to their local neighbors in need.
Whenever Whelen plans a holiday event for their employees, they always order extra food – with The Shoreline Soup Kitchen & Pantries in mind. SSKP volunteers pick up the food, and transport it to nearby Grace Episcopal Church. A team of SSKP "Heat & Eat" volunteers divide the food into individual portions to be given out at their local food pantries. Recently, on Halloween day, SSKP volunteers accepted a generous donation of cold cuts, cheeses, tuna and pasta salad, with sandwich rolls and fixings. This special donation was packaged into over 400 meals for hungry shoreline residents.
The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries serves people in need from 11 shoreline towns. They might be unemployed or underemployed, or might be living with a disability or illness, or may be elderly and struggling to make ends meet on a fixed income. For these pantry guests, who may not know where their next meal is coming from, the food donated by Whelen Engineering provides more than just relief from hunger. It offers assurance that they are part of a caring community that remembers the needs of its neighbors, all year round.
"Whelen likes to support the communities where we reside," explained Whelen Engineering president and CEO, John Olson. "Since we began our employee holiday parties years ago, we've always wanted to give back."
"We are grateful to Whelen Engineering for making generous donations of food, each time they celebrate a holiday. Their tradition of caring and providing for others has been a real blessing to all those who come to our pantries," said Patty Dowling, executive director of The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries. "On behalf of all those we serve, I say thank you so very much."
Whelen Engineering has been providing food donations to SSKP, several times throughout the year, for 18 years. Thank you, Whelen!
John Olson, President & CEO of Whelen Engineering with Nancy Hoffmann, SSKP "Heat & Eat" volunteer.
A team of "Heat & Eat" volunteers dividing the Whelen food donations at Halloween into individual portions at Grace Episcopal Church in Old Saybrook.
