By Victoria Iannotta, HolidayBasket Co-Chair On December 20th, 2011, volunteers from theCedarParkcommunity met at the Renewal Presbyterian Church on 47th andCedar Avenueto assemble holiday food baskets for distribution to the needy of our community. This was the culmination of an effort that has become an annual tradition inCedarPark.
Each year Cedar Park Neighbors works with organizations in our community to identify those for whom the gift of a holiday meal would be welcome. Thanks to donations from so many local residents and businesses, we were able to provide food baskets to 144 families; a total of 660 people. This is the largest number of people we have ever fed.
We’d like to thank all of the Cedar Park residents who contributed to the project and particularly acknowledge several organizations who supported us this year. The Renewal Presbyterian Church very graciously opened the church to us. They immediately welcomed us, and members of their congregation even helped us pack the baskets. For the sixth year, Brown’s ShopRite on Oregon Avenue donated a $100 gift certificate that was used to help purchase the turkeys for the baskets. Fresh Grocer and Trader Joe’s supplied us with all of the bags that we needed to pack the food. The Philadelphia Federal Credit Union, OpenHeartChurch, and Wake Up Yoga also contributed generously in support of the program. We would like to express our appreciation to each of these organizations and to each individual whose gift of time or treasure made the outreach possible.
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