A Late Summer Update from Lower Cape Outreach Council

During the first 7 months of 2010, the costs of providing emergency food, clothing and financial assistance to a total of 1240 lower Cape households came to $581,999.96.

This is measured against $440,172.80 and 1092 households for the same time period in 2009
and $378,298.84 and 930 households in 2008.

Faced with an increase of over 50% in two years, the Lower Cape Outreach Council is stretching every dollar to keep pace with the number of local residents who are struggling to keep food on their tables and roofs over their heads.

At the same time, we are experiencing a decline in donations, diminishing assistance from foundations and the corporate community, and a growing sentiment that this prolonged recession has become the “new normal.”

Our 8 pantries are struggling to keep pace with record requests for emergency food assistance. The public is generous with donations of packaged foods and canned goods but we are budgeted to spend an additional $85,000.00 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and fish, grain and dairy products and other necessary items in 2010.

Holiday food baskets alone will provide over $26,000.00 worth of food to roughly 650 lower Cape households.

With over 300 volunteers running most of our programs and a staff of only 3 paid employees, we manage to turn approximately 85 cents of every dollar raised right back into our communities.

We are being proactive. We are containing administrative and operating costs wherever possible. We are collaborating with other not for profits to avoid duplication of efforts and to realize maximum return from every dollar spent. We are giving our clients opportunities to help us help them. (Most notably, I point to the Gilmore Garden of Hope which has provided fresh produce to so many local households this summer and to the Council’s Child Care Scholarship Program which makes child care affordable for qualified working families by picking up 50% of the costs.)

Finally, as executive director, I am taking every opportunity to remind the public, the business community, the media, potential donors and foundations that without your help, we are powerless. We depend on your support.

We remain committed to the people of lower Cape. We are not cutting our services.
Our cupboards will not go bare. We will continue to be a source of hope during these difficult times.

If you need our help, call us today at (508) 240-0694.

If you can be of help, request volunteer information or send a tax-deductible contribution to Lower Cape Outreach Council, P.O. Box 665, Orleans, MA 02653.

This summer, the Council is celebrating 30 years of service to the lower Cape. With the public’s continued support and friendship, I know we’ll be here for a long time to come.

Larry Marsland
Executive Director
Lower Cape Outreach Council

Thanks Are In Order!

So many peolpe come through for the Council every day. It's hard to stop and single out individuals but sometimes it's necessary.

For instance, it's importrant to say thanks to Brett Conrad, a young man who donated 16 hours of his time landscaping our offices here at 19 Brewster Cross Road in Orleans. Every dollar Brett saved us in landscaping is a dollar that goes back out into our communities. Thanks, Brett!

And, thanks indeed to Cape Cod 5 Foundation who just sent us a check for $5,000 to help us meet the growing demand for help in the 8 communities we serve. Cape Cod 5 and Dave Willard are the kinds of friends you can count on when the going gets tough.

Finally, but certainly not last, we thank the young people responsible for The Brewster Children's Garden. These young agriculturalist, under the auspiscous of The Brewster Master Gardeners and Ellen Bernstein, have devoted a portion of their garden to growing fresh vegetables for the Council's Food Program. Here's a picture of this group of gardeners.

Have you ever seen a happier bunch of faces?

Food is the Issue!

At no time in our 30 year history has the Council experienced such a consistently high demand for emergency food from our 8 pantries. Through June of 2010, our pantries have given out $240,356.35 worth of food (up 20% from 2009) and $27,446.00 in food vouchers (up 33% from 2009.)

Add to these figures, our relatively new bi-monthly food distributions to local Councils on Aging, WIC and Cape Cod Children’s Place which are averaging $6 to $7 thousand per month and you can see that our resources are being stretched to the max.

No sooner do we stock our pantry shelves than they are emptied by local families who are struggling with the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

You can help. One way is to send a contribution earmarked “for Food” to Lower Cape Outreach Council, P.O. Box 665, Orleans, MA 02653 or bring donations of food to our central pantry at 19 Brewster Cross Road in Orleans.

If you want to donate food, here’s what we need most.

Canned Items: Tuna, Beef Stew, Corned Beef Hash, Chili, Spaghettio’s/Ravioli, Baked Beans, Green Beans, Corn, Peas, Peaches, Pears, Pineapple, Fruit Salad, Pasta Sauce, Tomatoes, Progresso Soups, Chunky/Select Soups

Other Items: Coffee, Cooking Oil, Ketchup, Mayo, Mustard, Paper Towels, Toilet Paper, Hand Soap, Toothpaste, Liquid Dish Detergent, Laundry Detergent, Pancake Mix, Pancake Syrup, Peanut Butter, Jelly, Cake Mix, Cereal, Instant Potatoes, Rice-a-Roni, Pasta Roni

Gilmore Garden of Hope Yields a Bonanza

Every day, bags of lettuce, cucumbers, kale, Swiss chard, green beans and broccoli are leaving our building in the hands of local families who need fresh produce to keep their meals nutritious and delicious. The goals of the Gilmore Garden of Hope are being realized in spades. (No pun intended.) Our garden volunteers are having a good time. Our clients are eating more nutritiously and we have forged and fortified longstanding friendships with other local organizations and businesses (and gardeners) who have pitched in and helped us make this vision a reality.

With tomatoes coming any day now, this summer’s bounty has just begun.

Look for more Council-sponsored community gardens next summer!

Weekend of Hope

A Happy Success

72 Orleans businesses, 35 young artists, a team of dedicated volunteers and hundreds of button buyers made this first Weekend of Hope an enjoyable, profitable and memorable event.

Questionnaires have already been mailed to all participating businesses and a final wrap up meeting will be held on July 19th to discuss what happened, how it worked and how it can be improved for next year.

Yes, for next year! Weekend of Hope will be back next year...bigger, better and, hopefully, expanded in terms of territory covered.

We're interested in everyone's reactions. So, if you took part in Weeknd of Hope or even if you didn't - maybe especially if you didn't - why not drop us a line and tell us why and how you think we should "grow" this event.

Email lmarsland@lcoutreach.org. We are eager to hear from you.

35 Young Artists Make Weekend of Hope

A Weekend to Remember

On Saturday evening, July 12th, The Addison Art Gallery in Orleans held a showing and reception of the works of 35 young, local artists who created works around the theme of Hope for our first ever Weekend of Hope.

Young people like Max Christopher from Brewster (pictured below with his work, Seeds of Hope ) were delighted to participate in such a prestigious showing of their works and, equally as delighted, to receive 50% of the profits of the sales. The other 50% went to the Council to help defray the costs of providing emergency food, clothing and financial assistance to hundreds of local households.

All in all, it was a lovely early summer evening. Major thanks to Helen Addision who went out of her way to make it a pleasure for both artists and art patrons alike.

New York Times Reports Mortgage Data

According to data released by the Mortgage Bankers Associations and reported in The New York Times, the nation's mortgage delinquency rate rose in the first quarter of 2010 to 9.38% of all loans outstanding, from 8.22% in the same time period last year.

Here at Lower Cape Outreach Council, we can verify that this trend is certainly reflective of what's happening here at home.

In the first quarter of 2010, we have provided $86,936.53 in emergency financial assistance in the category of Mortgage/Rent/Shelter as compared to $68,424.33 during the same time period last year.

An increase of 21%!

A Major Thank You to 12 Restaurants who made our Super Restaurant Raffle a huge success

This year's Super Restaurant Raffle realized nearly $28,000, all thanks go to the 12 restaurants whose participation made this event so attractive.

Please say thanks when you dine at these establishments and please dine there often.

Abba, Orleans

L'Alouette (Harwichport)

Bramble Inn (Brewster)

Brewster Fish House (Brewster)

Buca's (Harwich)

Captain Linnell House (Orleans)

Eldredge Room at the Queen Anne Inn (Chatham)

Inaho (Yarmouthport)

Nauset Beach Club (East Orleans)

The Port (Harwichport)

The Red Inn (Provincetown)

Wequassett Inn's Twenty-Eight Atlantic (Chatham)

And some seed fell upon good ground...

On Saturday, March 27th, something wonderful happened.

Twenty members of Nauset Rotary showed up at our proposed Council Garden site and transformed a plot of land that hadn't been worked in twenty years into a bed of rich soil waiting for the hands and hopes of our clients and volunteers to plant and weed and grow.

Agway generously provided the fencing and seeds and our Rotarian friends provided the sweatt equity and a lot of know-how. The results were more than a tilled garden site. What we realized that crisp, windy Saturday morning was the true sense of community.

Enjoy these highlights for yourself...

 Joe Bonowski and his son, Andy, braved      Richard Kirk, a Tuscarora Indian,

 the cold and joined the crew from Nauset    blessed the land with sweet grasses

 Rotary to clear the land                                 and then rolled up his sleeves

                    This great guy raked and tilled the morning away.

Janice Perrin, a manager of many talents.

organized the day's work and then gave us

all a lesson in what it means to get your hands dirty.

TD Bank Lends A Helping Hand

    Peter Rice, Larry Marsland, Larry Squires          Larry and Peter roll up their sleeves        

Just before the holidays, Larry Squires and Peter Rice showed up to present us with a check for $5,000.00 from TD Bank, a welcome contribution particularly in these times when we are pouring every extra dollar into food and housing.

Larry and Peter showed up again in February with a team of managers and staff from

TD Bank to give us a little hands on help in our food warhouse. The group spent the morning working in Katy's and sorting food by expire dates.

Thanks, TD Bank. Thanks, Larry and Peter.

Latest Figures on Hunger

in Massachusetts

The use of food pantries is up 46% nationally and 23% in Massachusetts since 2006.

An estimated 571,000 Massachusetts residents visited a food bank sometime last year.

The Council pantries have experienced increases of 30% to 40% in the past year and a half.

With hunger at such record levels, we ask that individuals, businesses and organizations remember that hunger continues after the holday season. Please remember those who are struggling and consider a food drive or collection to keep LCOC's eight pantries fully stocked through  the winter.

On the first Thursday of every month, the public is invited to attend the open monthly membership meeting of the Lower Cape Outreach Council. Held in the basement of St.Joan of Arc Church in Orleans to accommodate the number of attendees, this meeting is a perfect opportunity to get a sense of the overall work of the Council and to meet many of our active volunteers and supporters.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors...

Good neighbors come in all ages and sizes. Recently the sixth grade class from Nauset Middle School dropped by with box after box of food they had collected to help keep our pantries brimming. Accompanied by Shelby Williams, their grade level counselor and Marcia Cameron, assistant principal, this group of concerned younger citizens toured our facilities and participated in an informative discussion of how the Council helps local folks who are in need. Thanks, kids!

Grants for Food and for

Our New Food Storage Facility

The Council has received generous grants from The Edward Bangs Kelley And Elza Kelley Foundation, Inc. and from The Bilezikian Family Foundation to help us stock our pantry shelves and create a more responsive, effective food storage system at a time when food is a pressing need for hundreds of local families and individuals.

Each foundation has contributed $5,000 to help the Council create and stock a new facility on the ground floor of 19 Brewster Cross Road in Orleans.

This year, our eight pantries are providing food to an unprecedented number of people, stretching our capacity by up to 40%. These grants will be very helpful in letting us continue to be there whenever someone on the lower Cape is in need of food.

Assistance Levels Reach Record Highs

In 2009 the Council gave out $179,609.42 in Rent/Mortage/Shelter assistance to local families and individuals in need.

Help with electric bills went from $40,503.84 in 2008

to $66,649.54 in 2009.

Transportation assistance went from $33,518.57 to $47,181.01 .

Our food pantries' figures  are even more startling.

In 2009 , the number of people using our pantries has risen 48%.

The total number of households depending on our pantries is up 40% and the total volume of food we are giving out  has risen by 46%.

In 2009, the value of food given to our clients exceeded $425,000.00!

LCOC Pantries Are in Need of the following items...

cold cereals

corned beef hash

tuna fish

paper towels and toilet paper

dish and laundry detergent

mayonnaise

ketchup

mustard

If you can donate items from the above list (or any other items) bring them to your local LCOC pantry or drop them off at 19 Brewster Cross Road in Orleans.

We're located on the ground floor, around back.

LCOC Pantries Call for Pet Food

In bad economies, it's not just humans who suffer. Often beloved household pets are put up for adotion because their food, etc is an added burden to budgets that are already strained. If you can spare some cat or dog food, cat littler, etc, please bring them by LCOC headquarters and we'll make sure they get into the hands of pet lovers who want to keep their friends with them at home.

HOPE CHEST Ads Create a Buzz!

It's not everyday that shoppers come into a store and make a point of commenting on the quality of that business' advertsing. For that matter, it's not everyday that media reps call to compliment an advertiser on the creativity of their marketing efforts.

Still, that's just what's been happening to the Hope Chest thanks to the clever and entertaining ads created by our own Richard Kirk.

Richard is a Native American artist, illustrator and marketing pro whose special abilities are paying off handsomely for Lower Cape Outreach Council and the Hope Chest.

If you haven't seen these ads in our local papers, here are the two that are currently making the rounds. More are coming so keep your eye peeled.