Neighbors Helping Neighbors: A Lasting Act of Kindness from SNAPback Seacoast
On Monday, December 8, Community Action Partnership of Strafford County (CAPSC) received a hefty donation, totaling over 250 pounds from a newly formed local community group, SNAPback Seacoast.
The group opened in response to a lapse in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), when the federal government entered the longest running shut down in history. Since then, the group has been working to support the community and local community action groups- helping to coordinate additional volunteer opportunities and supply resources to those in need.
Similar to CAPSC, SNAPback Seacoast also works to support the community, oftentimes emphasizing a “neighbor helping neighbor” approach.
Their initiative “is more than a response — it’s a reminder of who we are. In a time when our community feels divided, SNAPback Seacoast is a chance to come together again: for good, for our neighbors, and for our community,” according to their website. Just this week, the group met at a local venue, Black Rock Social Club in Portsmouth, to culminate the journey the group set out earlier this year and celebrate the community’s support. The group worked quickly to become an additional support system for residents and community agencies throughout the government shutdown. On Monday, the group made one last stop at our Main Outreach Office to make its final impact.
At around 12 p.m., the donation, full of both food items and personal care items, was dropped off at the CAPSC Main Outreach Office, located at 577 Central Ave in Dover. Quickly, a handful of CAPSC employees worked to bring the donated items inside the building; The items were then diligently sorted and organized, weighed for recording purposes, before finally being placed directly on the shelves of the expanded food pantry, which also opened in response to the government shutdown, and an increased need for food amongst residents of Strafford County.
By 2 p.m., all 271 pounds of donated items; including cans of vegetables, boxes of cereal and pasta, water bottles, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and more were all placed on the shelves of the expanded food pantry in Dover, ready to be taken home by those in need.
Throughout the rest of the day, the shelves slowly became less dense, as residents shuffled in and out of the extended food pantry in Dover.
Although SNAPback Seacoast has noted their plans to disband as a group soon, the donation to the extended food pantry represents one more act of neighborly kindness- And their impact on the community will not be forgotten.
CAPSC Mission and Vision
Founded in 1965, CAPSC is the sole provider in Strafford County to offer a full suite of programs and services designed to have a measurable impact on the health and welfare of at-risk children, seniors, and people experiencing low incomes.
Without the services provided by our agency, many local residents would be without a means to provide for their basic needs, including food, education, child care, utilities assistance, transportation, housing, emergency shelter and access to other services.
Read more here.
