Ellen Engel
Monthly food and cash donations for the Matthew’s Crossing Food Bank in Chandler have continued to increase now that the holiday season is upon us, and the results for early November were encouraging, indeed. Prior to the Splash’s early deadline because of the Veterans Day holiday, generous Sun Lakes residents had already contributed a total of 414.5 pounds of food and donated $402 in cash.
A more complete (full-year) tally of results will appear in the next issue of the Splash. And in the following edition (February), we will publish your rather astonishing five-year results – testimony to the generous spirit of the Sun Lakes community.
Contributed dollars are used to pay for basic foods not normally donated, and all items are ultimately channeled to needy families in Chandler.
Any Sun Lakes resident may contribute at established pickup points sponsored by the Sun Lakes Duplicate Bridge Club and the Sun Lakes Democratic Club. Other local organizations, including the Sun Lakes Jewish congregation and Unity of Sun Lakes, also make regular contributions and donations, and your organization can do so as well. But membership in local clubs and congregations is not a criterion. In fact, many individual donors show up from all over Sun Lakes at the two club-sponsored pickup points and at our food barrel in the lobby of the Sun Lakes Country Club, which is available whenever the clubhouse is open.
The Sun Lakes Duplicate Bridge Club pickup takes place at the Risen Savior Lutheran Church on Alma School Road, in the parking lot, from 12:45 to 1:20 p.m. on the first Monday of each month, and the Sun Lakes Democratic Club accepts contributions on the second Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Sun Lakes Country Club (SLCC).
Reach Out Sun Lakes is actively seeking additional volunteers to spend several hours a month helping to handle the collections at our donation locations and assisting with other simple tasks related to delivery to the food bank, program bookkeeping, as well as volunteers to work on site at the food bank, since Matthew’s Crossing, located at 1368 Arizona Avenue in Chandler, also needs volunteers on a regular basis. If interested, please call the volunteer coordinator at 857-2296 and join the many Sun Lakers who already donate time and effort at the Crossing.
For information, to arrange for your organization’s support of this worthwhile program or to volunteer, please contact Ellen Engel at 480-802-0425 or email [email protected].
Again, thank you, Sun Lakes, and please keep up the good work!