Grocery Cart Challenge Added to Yankee Homecoming Parade
NEWBURYPORT, MA – June 28, 2019. Pennies for Poverty has challenged the community to participate in a fun food drive as part of the Yankee Homecoming Parade on August 4th. Pennies is inviting teams to join the parade with fancifully decorated wagons, carts, or anything with wheels with the capacity to collect non-perishable food and personal care items along the parade route. Teams will compete for the title of “2019 Grocery Cart Champion” based on the creativity of their “Grocery Carts” and their hustle in filling carts during the 1.1 mile parade route. Pennies has also challenged parade spectators to contribute to the carts in the parade. Pennies will distribute all items collected to local food pantries. Team registration and a list of “most needed items” can be found on the Pennies website (penniesforpoverty.org).
“Donations to food pantries fall off at this time of year as people go on vacation and organized groups schedule fewer activities. A community-wide food drive in conjunction with this beloved event will help us. Moreover, the way Pennies is doing this – giving teams a chance to be in the parade as part of a wacky competition – sounds like it will be a lot of fun,” commented Susan Boccuzzo, Co-founder, Community Food Pantry at First Parish Church.
“We hope that some of the Grocery Cart teams will run food drives in advance of the parade and that the parties along the parade route will incorporate a reminder about the food drive in their invitations,“ said Sue McKittrick, Board President at Pennies for Poverty. “This is a great team building opportunity for local businesses that want to get involved in community activities. Families, camps, churches and other groups will find this an easy and fun way to participate in the Parade. All will have the satisfaction of giving back to the community.”
The Challenge is organized by Pennies for Poverty: 2 Cents 4 Change, Inc. Pennies’ mission is to ease the impact of poverty on the people of Greater Newburyport by endorsing models of assistance that promote dignity, supporting allied organizations both financially and collaboratively, increasing community awareness of poverty through citizen education, and inspiring and encouraging volunteerism. Find more information at www.penneisforpoverty.org and contact us at pennies@penniesforpoverty.org if you want to get more involved in our work.