Friendship House News.

Good things are happening here.

Vol. 3 Issue 2

Improvements Completed

Two major improvements at Friendship House have now been completed and we couldn’t be happier to share the news.

After beginning preparation work in the fall, the driveway and parking area around the building have been completed. New drainage areas were constructed, the area was cleared of mud (finally after a very wet winter) and it was graded. Stone was delivered and the fine grading and rolling of the area was complete.

Everyone at Friendship House would like to thank Dick Savage and Merlin Zimmerman for their assistance. Lionel Vieira did a great job with the project. And, thanks go out to Bruce St. Lawrence and Dave Adam for help in planning.

The second project completed was the installation of a walk in freezer. Friendship House received a generous grant last year from Foodlink to install the freezer. All the electrical work and installation is complete. The team in the pantry is now working to install shelving and organize frozen items. Having the freezer will help us to keep additional stock of frozen foods available for families.

Each new improvement helps us to serve our community and work towards our mission of helping people in need.

The Great Easter Basket Hunt

Dust off your bunny ears and get ready for The Great Easter Basket Hunt at Friendship House. It will be held on Sunday, April 2nd from 12 to 3pm. Registration for the event will be open on March 10th.

This is a fun event for children of all ages. Easter Baskets full of goodies will be hidden in the Park and Pavilion for kids to find. Games, music and maybe even a dancing Easter Bunny help to make the day a lot of fun. Sign up the kids for a time slot to come and hunt for a basket. The Registration link and instructions will be posted on Facebook and our website. Keep your eyes open for the details and be prepared to have lots of fun!

Food Pantry - February Visits

The Pantry continues to serve many families in need of food. During the month of February, 212 families visited the Food Pantry a total of 359 times. In addition, many families also visit the Bread Shed for breads and some fresh foods during the hours when the Pantry is closed. The Food Pantry is open on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with Saturdays being the day with the most visits and there are as many visits on Wednesdays as there are on Fridays. The families visiting reside in Middlesex and surrounding towns. After Middlesex, Naples and Rushville residents visit the most.

The Volunteer team is strong and committed to keeping the shelves stocked. This month, they transported (loaded and unloaded, and stocked too) 1.9 tons of donations from local stores.

Easter Coloring Contest

The Easter Coloring Contest was announced on March 2nd and open to all kids. The coloring pages are available on our website and in the Thrift Shop. Entries are due back to the Thrift Shop by March 22nd. All entries will be displayed at Friendship House and everyone is invited to stop by and cast your vote for the very best entry in each age category. Winners will be announced on Saturday, April 1st (no kidding!). The winners will receive Easter and Spring-themed prizes.

Volunteers Always Welcome

Did you know that the Thrift Shop and Food Pantry are staffed nearly 100% by volunteers?

We would like to introduce our new volunteers. A warm welcome to:

Laurie Scheible - Atlanta

Gayle King - Rushville

Paula Clawson - Naples

Kerry Wischoff - Naples

Holly Heins - Naples

Coloring Sheets

Seed Sale

Get your green thumb ready, Friendship House Seed Sale starts Wednesday, March 8th. There will be a great selection of vegetable, herb and flower seeds to get started for your garden. Stop in and browse the selection, you’re bound to find something that you need and at an amazing price. We can’t wait for spring planting and summer harvest and we bet you can’t either!
Mark Your Calendars!

Fair warning! Mark your calendars! May (and warm weather) seems like a long way off but, it will be here before you know it. Remember the great Pop-up-Shop for Rushville Days last summer? We’re going to be back in Rushville for a Yard Sale on May 19th and 20th. This time featuring brand new summer clothing for the whole family…and so much more. So, make a note not to miss it. More details as the date gets closer.
Behind the Scenes

We’ve been making some “behind the scenes” changes too! Our Volunteer’s breakroom is getting a facelift. New cupboards, flooring and storage will help to make this a comfortable place for our volunteers to have a meal or a cup of coffee during their day. The bonus is that all of the necessary items for the facelift have been donated by friends and supporters. Thank you!

At a Glance - Some Amazing 2022 Facts

The Friendship House Mission is to help people in need in our community and surrounding neighborhoods. In 2022 we worked tirelessly towards this mission but we did not do it alone! There were many volunteers, church groups, civic organizations, retailers, individuals and donors who contributed towards this goal. Our heartfelt thanks to each and every person who contributed to these amazing results!

6,850

158

34

Visits to the Food Pantry

Tons of Donated Food

Active Volunteers

10,387

$49,000

Hours of Volunteer Work

Donations

Safety First

Now that the driveway and parking area improvements have been finished, it’s a perfect time to talk about safety. Friendship House shares the driveway and parking areas with the Town Park. Donated by Stuart Mitchell in 1994, it is maintained by the Town of Middlesex and is a great place for kids and adults to visit, play and get some fresh air!

Some visitors to Friendship House arrive by horse and buggy. You may have noticed posts and a chain near the clothing drop off. This is specifically for buggy parking.

Keeping everyone safe while visiting is very important. You can help put Safety First by observing the following: