By Kim Zwisdak, Village Lutheran Church & The Chapel School
Oct. 20, 2021: During the first two weeks of October members of Village Lutheran Church and families from The Chapel School partnered with the Eastchester Community Action Partnership (E.C.AP.) to assist in fighting food insecurity. There is a great need now, more than ever before, to help in feeding the community’s families who are food insecure. The number of families in need grow by the day during the pandemic.
The Thrivent Member Network–Northeast Region challenged members to combat food insecurity by using Thrivent Action Teams. If they collected at least 500 nonperishable items for a local food pantry, the region would reward their efforts with a $500 check to that organization. The school and church set up an October Food Drive Challenge. “I was so happy when Value Drugs in Eastchester donated a box of paper bags with handles,” stated Nelly Palumbo, Fellowship Coordinator at Village Lutheran Church. Flyers with information about the challenge were created, stapled to the bags, and sent home with each of the students. They served as a reminder and an easy way to collect the non-perishable food items.
“Within the first two days the collection tables were packed with donations,” stated Kim Zwisdak, Development Office Project Manager at Village Lutheran Church & The Chapel School. “I was nervous at first, because 500 items is a lot, but our families and community members are always so generous. We not only hit the goal but exceeded it before the end of the challenge period.” Over 1,000 items were collected for E.C.A.P.
Students were tasked with helping to count, sort and pack the items. Members from Village Lutheran Church with large vehicles volunteered their time to collect and drop off the donations to the food pantry.
The Chapel School is a place where service as a way of life is promoted to all students and families. Sharing time, talents, and treasures with people in the community and around the world distinguishes The Chapel School as a caring place where God's love is freely shared. “We focus on developing compassionate, empathetic and charitable hearts and heeding a call to action to bring peace and relief to the disadvantaged and underserved,” stated Mr. Michael Schultz, Principal
Photo courtesy Village Lutheran Church & The Chapel School