LOWER CAPE OUTREACH COUNCIL Summer 2022
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Hello from LCOC! I hope everyone is enjoying a summer of fun. LCOC has its new team in place, and we have hit the ground running. We have a bunch of news to share with you, but first as many of you know we are in the midst of our Summer of Hope campaign. You can read a client story each week, check the donor list and follow our progress in the Provincetown Independent, on our website and linked on our social media. This week we will be publishing week 4, but you can catch up on the website. Just follow the Summer of Hope link! https://lcoutreach.org/summer-of-hope/
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As our loyal supporters, I know you believe in our mission “to provide comprehensive support to those in need of immediate assistance and encourage long term self-sufficiency.” For many of our clients, simply staying in their homes and keeping up with the rising cost of living on Cape Cod has become a daily struggle. Therefore, in light of the challenges currently facing our community, and in furtherance of our mission, LCOC continues to provide assistance in a variety of ways.
LCOC manages nine emergency food pantries, provides financial assistance and manages Katy’s Korner, our free clothing and resource center. We have an emergency pantry in every Lower and Outer Cape town, including two in Orleans. These pantries ensure that our neighbors continue to have food on their tables, despite the rising cost of food. Our financial assistance program can help residents in the form of rent, utilities, car payments or repairs, childcare, medical bills and so much more. One unexpected bill can have a devastating effect on our clients who are already living paycheck to paycheck. Finally, Katy’s Korner and the LCOC main pantry, located in LCOC’s Orleans office, is open 5 days a week for anyone who needs, clothes, household goods, children’s toys and books, food and more.
Our new team is also working to identify ways to serve our clients better, in different ways and to collaborate more with other non-profits in our community. As you will read later in this Newsletter, we are currently undergoing a needs assessment to evaluate our current programs and identify unmet needs in our community. We expect this process will enable LCOC to grow our programs in the future and reach more of our neighbors in need. Thank you to all of our volunteers and donors that continue to enable us to fulfill our mission and help keep Cape Codders on Cape Cod.
Sincerely,
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Katie Wibby, Esq.
Chief Executive Officer
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Larry’s Farewell &
New Scholarship Fund
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LCOC is entering a new chapter as we are saying goodbye to our long-time CEO Larry Marsland. Larry dedicated 20 years of his life to this organization and grew LCOC to the non-profit we are today. Larry’s commitment to LCOC’s mission and our clients is a legacy will that live on in the organization. In honor of Larry’s service, the Board of Directors voted to fund a Larry Marsland Scholarship for the Arts with $25,000 over a period of 10 years. This Scholarship will be managed by the Cape Cod Foundation and support Cape Codders fulfill their dream of a higher education in the Arts. |
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Restaurant Blowout Winners! |
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Restaurant Blowout was a huge success, and we want to thank all of those who supported this fundraiser by entering to win. The proceeds of this campaign will support our food pantries, as well as our financial assistance program.
First Prize: Fay Cole of Eastham
Second Prize: Sarah Nitsch of Brewster
Third Prize: Joe Costa of Harwich
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Annual Meeting: June 30, 2022 |
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Our annual meeting was held on June 30th. We would like to thank the Brewster Baptist Church for hosting our gathering. At our meeting, we voted in a new slate of officers and introduced our newest board member, Todd Squire. We also had to say goodbye to 3 long-time Board members as they finished up their 6-year terms on the Board including Pat Rowel, past president, Lee Chirgwin and Page McMahon. On behalf of LCOC, I would like to thank all our board members past and present for dedicating their time and efforts to make LCOC what it is today.
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Here is the updated list of
Board members:
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President – Jim Botsford (2023)
Vice President – Sue Meisinger (2024)
Secretary – Susan Carlson (2024)
Treasurer – James Kivlehan (2024)
Assistant Treasurer – George Malloy (2024)
Past President – John Roman
Susan Walsh
Brad Carlson
John Kanaga
Joseph Gorski
Todd Squire
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VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHT – RUTH BRENNEMAN |
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From growing up in Alaska, graduating from college in Washington state, joining VISTA, and moving cross-country to the East Coast, Ruth Brenneman is the consummate volunteer, dedicating herself to a life of service to her community and her church.
While working with VISTA, Ruth met her future husband, Tom, also a volunteer with the organization. They committed to a year of service through VISTA, and were assigned to Arkansas where they engaged in youth programs. They also committed to each other and married in Arkansas.
Eventually, the young couple moved back to Tom’s home state of Massachusetts. It appears that it’s Ruth’s nature to play down her accomplishments, when she reminded herself with a chuckle that during that first year, while living in Framingham, she wanted to offer her services to her community and started a 4-H club as a volunteer!
Settling in Natick, where Tom grew up, Ruth had a 28-year career as an elementary school teacher, and while raising her family, volunteered for Cub Scouts and teaching Sunday School at her local church. After living in Natick for over 35 years, Ruth and Tom “retired” to Harwich in 2013. A few years later, her mother moved in with Ruth and Tom, and they took on the caregiving responsibilities as her mom was in the throws of Alzheimer’s disease. Ruth credits the Council on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Support Group during this stressful time.
With her mom’s passing in 2019, Ruth “gave herself a year” to mourn and heal. Through her church, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Harwich, Ruth began to volunteer at the Faith Family Kitchen in Hyannis, which is part of the Cape Cod Council of Churches. This consortium offers several programs to serve the homeless, the hungry and the needy.
During the pandemic, like many staying closer to home, Ruth volunteered 1 day a week at LCOC’s Food Pantry in Harwich, located in St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. After 30 years at the Food Pantry (15 as volunteer; 15 as manager) Aline Gilfort announced she would be “retiring.” (She and her husband, Herb, continue to volunteer at the Pantry one day a week.) Was it karma or divine intervention? When a young mother spoke with Ruth about how appreciative she was to have the help she needed through LCOC and the Harwich Food Pantry, Ruth knew she had to step up. She now manages the pantry and oversees 16 very dedicated volunteers. She continues to learn the day-to-day needs of the community. Challenges include getting the word out that the pantry is available to individuals and families. She credits LCOC and St. Peter’s for their help in spreading the word through social media and the church bulletin. At this time the pantry is distributing 150-180 bags of groceries per month.
A top priority for Ruth is to reach more individuals and families in the Harwich community to let them know that help is available, and that there shouldn’t be a stigma when one needs extra support. She hopes her clients “take what they need and if they need (something), to make sure they get it.”
With summer comes family, and Ruth is looking forward to her “grands” seeing both Tom (who mentors young adults) and Ruth as role models for volunteerism. Now on the Audit Committee at the church, Ruth is amazed at what St. Peter’s does for the community and how supportive it is of the LCOC Pantry. She is pleased to be part of these organizations and says, “You get more back than you give.”
Sincere thanks to Ruth Brenneman for her dedication and leadership – a true role model for all of us.
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New Faces around the Office |
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As we say goodbye to Larry, we also welcome several new staff members. Five of our six staff members joined LCOC over the course of the last two years and given COVID, they haven’t been formally introduced. Follow this link for a bit about all of our fantastic staff, new and seasoned! https://lcoutreach.org/about/#staff
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Now that you know a bit about our new staff, lets talk about what we are working on.
We are currently working on a Needs Assessment. Our newest team member, Andy O’Dell, LCSW, will be doing outreach into the community to identify unmet needs within our service area and how we may be able to coordinate and collaborate with other social service agencies to better serve our clients. The needs assessment will not only help to improve our current programs but identify additional ways to serve our community with future programing. We hope to have the Needs Assessment wrapped up by the end of September.
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We are excited to announce that LCOC will be taking over the management of the Chatham 5K Turkey Trot. For those of you who are not aware, the Turkey Trot is a 5K race on Thanksgiving morning. Since 2005, the race was managed by a separate non-profit, but the proceeds have always benefited LCOC. We want to thank the founders of this wonderful, family friendly event for their years of dedication and support. We look forward to the opportunity to manage this race into the future. This year, we don’t intend to make too many changes, but we are excited to be back in-person! (The race has been virtual for the last two years.) Prior to COVID 19, this event drew around 2,000 people annually and was a major revenue source for our programs. But like all of our events and programs at LCOC, we need volunteers to make it a success. Please do not feel like you need to be available on Thanksgiving Day to volunteer. While we will certainly need volunteers at the event, there is plenty of planning that takes place beforehand. For more information, please contact Karen at karenr@lcoutreach.org.
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