Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek in Chester has an annual tradition during the High Holy Days; a large food drive for The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries. Congregants are given empty bags at Rosh Hashanah services and asked to bring them back to Yom Kippur services, this time full of non-perishable food. Each congregant receives a wish list of the most-needed items, along with a biblical passage about helping people in need.

This year’s drive was extremely successful, with a total of 2,361 lbs collected. Sandy Seidman, a member of the congregation and the owner of Safety Zone, arranged for a large truck to deliver the food to SSKP’s Old Saybrook pantry, where CBSRZ and SSKP volunteers unloaded hundreds of bags of food to be weighed and sorted for distribution.

“This annual food drive is so appreciated, and shows the commitment of CBSRZ to caring for others,” said Patty Dowling, Executive Director of SSKP. “By the end of summer our pantry shelves can get quite depleted, and this will help fill them again. We are so thankful to everyone at Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek.”

Ryann of Old Lyme recently celebrated her 3rd birthday by asking her party guests for food donations instead of presents. At her “Peter Pan” themed birthday party, Ryann and her friends collected 127 lbs. of food, which she and her Mom delivered to the Old Saybrook food pantry. “This is our second year collecting food on her birthday”, said her Mom. “Last year we collected 48 pounds - but she has more friends now.”

Thank you to Ryann, her family and all her friends for remembering those in need on the shoreline.

Volunteers from Godiva Chocolatier in Old Saybrook gave a helping hand at SSKP's Old Saybrook Pantry, hosted at First Church of Christ in Saybrook (Congregational).  Their efforts were part of "Godiva Gives", an annual campaign dedicated to encouraging people across the country to get out and volunteer to make their communities a better place.  Thank you Godiva!

Every year the employees of Roto Frank of America, based in Chester, select a charity to support.  This year we are happy to announce they chose The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries.

So far they have held a Pancake Breakfast, a Bake Sale, and a Taco Lunch/Food Drive, where food donations served as admissions.  Upcoming events include 50-50 raffles, food drive competitions, and other breakfast/lunch sales. Employees may also give contributions via payroll deductions.  Campaign progress is tracked on a special "soup ladle thermometer", updated monthly and displayed in the employee cafeteria.  The company also designs an annual t-shirt for every employee, who are encouraged to wear them on Friday for "Charity T-Shirt Day".  All their efforts seem to be working!  To date, the campaign has raised more than $1,000 and 100 pounds of non-perishable food, with many months yet to go.

At the end of December, the Charitable Committee will present SSKP with a check for all the financial donations collected during the year.  Non-perishable food donations are brought to SSKP food pantries continuously throughout the year.

"We are so grateful to all the employees of Roto Frank for supporting The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries," said Patty Dowling, Executive Director.  "Their year-long effort is an inspiration, and shows their caring and commitment to helping others in need."