March 9, 2026 newsletter

Good morning everyone...yawn, stretch, try to get back on track...stoopid time change! I love having more light in the evening, but my body just hates the time change. Anyway, I hope you all had a good weekend and are looking forward to some milder weather this week!

At SSK, we are moving ahead with our plans to form more partnerships in order to serve more people. This week and next, we have several meetings with organizations that also have the space and the desire to sponsor workshops, classes, meet-ups, and the like. Many of you know that in the past we have held these types of meetings in the building where we were located. That was fine, but we tended to mostly only see the same people that we were already reaching. We would like to help even more of our community to expand their relationships across the typical divides that can keep people from socializing (and help with their food needs, if necessary), so we are continuing to look for two things:

Like-minded businesses, organizations, and clubs that have space for workshops or social meetings, and that have participants, members, or customers that we may not already know.

Like-minded community members who have skills, talents, knowledge that they'd like to share with others in informal settings.

We are not looking for these spaces and talented people in order to raise funds or gain donations. We are looking to give more people the opportunity to enjoy being with others. When I wrote "like-minded" above, what I meant is that you agree with our basic philosophy, to love and serve ALL and to build a bigger and more INCLUSIVE table. That table is not just for food, but also for relationships. Food is not a ploy to attract people, but of course there will be food! And any material costs will be taken care of so that no one is excluded due to finances.

This is not a new direction for us, but rather an opportunity to strengthen our focus on the second of our two pillars, community-building. Do you have a talent or skill you'd like to share? Just as one example, we are currently looking for a Russian language speaker (you do not need to be a native speaker, just halfway decent at it!) who would enjoy getting together with someone who is trying to learn it on his own. Or maybe get together with a small group to enjoy conversation. We have donuts and coffee, and a nice safe place to gather...

* * * * * 

One Small Thing 

Just as we became aware that we hadn't had any Birthday Tins to hand out in a very long time, one of our lovely friends contacted us to say they had put together birthday-party-in-a-pan packages for us! If you've never had to worry about stretching the budget to include some extras like a cake and candles, you'll just have to trust us that this is huge! Thank you so much to Carla and her friends 💖

* * * * * 

 If you can shop for us this week, we will gratefully take anything off of our complete pantry list, and we are especially in need of juice boxes for dinner and Friday snack bags. 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

Enjoy the week! I love you all 💕