March 23, 2026 newsletter

Good afternoon!  I got a slow start today, because we had a really big weekend which included a Board meeting (more on that next week!) and a presentation after the Sunday service at St Andrew's Episcopal Church here in Ayer.  I was so happy that many of our volunteers who attend St A's were willing to speak about their own experiences too.  But let me back up a little bit first!  

Some of you may have seen online that we had a visit last week from our friend Ed Gordon, representing the Harvard Lions Club.  He came to present us with a grant to support our very popular Coffee Bar, which runs at the same time as our pantry service each Saturday.  Here's the kicker: we asked them for enough to fund the CB for 20 weeks, but they decided to give us enough to fund the entire year!  That's 2 1/2 times what we asked for!  We are so grateful for their generosity to our community.  There's a picture attached in case you missed it online.  

I believe that we've reached everyone who has wanted to use venmo to donate to us, but in case you missed it, we cannot use it.  After the account was set up and a donation was made, we have been unable to actually attach it to our bank account.  That means that any donations made will just sit in the venmo account, unable to be accessed, transferred, returned, or anything else.  And we can't close the account because...wait for it...there's money in it.  It is enraging, to be honest, but no worries...we have a complaint in to the State Attorney General's office.  Bottom line, venmo wants to offer charity accounts, but it's really not set up to do so. 

If you click on our QR code, please do NOT choose the venmo option!

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One Small Thing

In our letter last week, we shared about the partnership between Partakers.org and college programs for incarcerated students.  We heard from our friend Laurie S, who wants to encourage everyone who is looking for a rewarding volunteer opportunity to consider looking into this:

"I’ve been a volunteer mentor for an inmate (I’ll call him Dan) at MCI Shirley for a little over a year.  He is in a Tufts Bachelor’s degree program that’s as rigorous as any held on campus.  For me, it’s a very rewarding experience and I’ve seen Dan grow both as a student (his grades in many classes are better than I could have ever achieved!) and as a person.  He is a leader among his peers and I am very proud of him."

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If you can shop for us this week, we are particularly in need of a few things: large bottles of apple juice (we go through so many each week), coffee (ditto!), and baking mixes other than pancake.  Please email me if you need our full list or you want our QR code for online donations.  We can take drop-offs at the pantry (through the gray door next to the parking lot on Cambridge Street) on Wednesdays from 10 to noon, Fridays from 4 to 5, and Saturdays only from 9 to 10.  Please do not leave food at the door outside of these hours.  The bin is always available at Ayer Shop n' Save if those times don't suit: Please leave a note in the bag with your name so we know whom to thank!  We are located at 21 Washington Street, Suite C, Ayer MA 01432  

Thank you so much for all your support.  I love you all!