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Got any plans for those adorable Halloween costumes your kids wore last year? 

We are accepting Halloween Costumes for our 2nd Annual Costume Giveaway! 

Scary or sweet costumes for all ages and in all sizes are welcome. You can donate your gently used costumes during office hours (Monday through Friday, 9 to 4; Wednesday 9 to 7.)

The costumes collected will be made available for distribution starting October 18th through the 27th during Clothing Pantry hours (Tuesdays 9 to noon; Wednesdays 9 to 4; Thursdays 1 to 4.)

Call our office with any questions and thank you for sharing with the families here in our own community. 
 
 
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The Neighborhood Center is so appreciative of Beacon Credit Union for sponsoring the Project Spotlight and for all of the community members who voted. We are especially grateful for Heather King, who took initiative, got involved, and advocated for our organization, and ultimately, the families we serve.  Our thanks to all!

2011 Project Spotlight Winners Announced

Beacon Credit Union is proud to support every community we serve.

Project Spotlight is a program created to discover and support worthwhile projects in each community that Beacon serves. Our hope is to be able to support community projects both large and small, and bring awareness to the many good things happening in our communities every day.

The Winners of Marshall County
As determined by member voting, the following organizations were chosen from each community to receive funding amounts of $1000, $500 and $250 (1st, 2nd and 3rd place).

1st - Marshall County Neighborhood Center
2nd- United Way of Marshall County
3rd - Saint Joseph Health Center


 
Thank you 4-H 09/27/2011
 
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The Marshall County 4-H Junior Leaders chose The Neighborhood Center for their September community service project and we are grateful for all of their hard work. 

Over 20 members attended, and with big smiles and determined attitudes, they helped unload, sort, and stock 1,600 pounds of food for the Center's pantry! They also cleaned our building and helped move items to storage. 

We are grateful for the act of volunteerism our local community group demonstrated and we share in the 4-H vision that is, "a world in which youth and adults learn, grow and work together as catalysts for positive change."  
 
 
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We would like to thank Ancilla College for hosting their first annual Community Engagement Fair, on September 13th through 14th. We really appreciated the invitation to join students and faculty at their beautiful campus. Over the course of two days, we were able to share information about volunteer opportunities at MCNC, and in the coming months, we look forward to seeing student-volunteers in our pantries and holiday programs.
 
 
We have recently mailed our quarterly newsletter where we continue to share some of the stories that have positively impacted us recently including spotlights on special donors, volunteers and board members.

We’re working on providing information to you in more effective ways. This new one-page version of our newsletter has been designed to save costs. We hope you enjoy it. We plan to provide the highlights quarterly to you with the new printed format, or the pdf you may view by clickhere > 

If you would like additional details from this update, you may call the office or read more details online.
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click image to download the PDF version
The Summer 2011 MCNC Update includes information like:
Food Drive
MCNC’s current needs, 
successful drives >
How you can lead your 
own drive >

Family Portrait Day
How one person shared
her skills to make
families smile >

Spotlights
MCNC recognizes the 
names of donors, 
volunteers and 
board members
who shine >

 
Thank you 3M!!! 08/22/2011
 
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3M has been very supportive to The Neighborhood Center with food drives and grant funding.
We are delighted to inform you that MCNC was approved for a 3M corporate giving grant. Today we received a check for $2500!

3M has shown a great deal of interest in supporting The Neighborhood Center. They hosted a very successful employee food drive in April, which brought in about 700 pounds of food. In July, Amber Moulton, Human Resources Field Representative, invited us to apply for a one-time grant through 3M's community giving plan. 

If you have a friend or contact with 3M, please be sure to express our gratitude for this grant award.

 
 
On Wednesday, Aug. 24th from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., MCNC will host the Adams Street Kids as they 'ASK' About Applesauce. Members of the youth group will prepare and serve two dishes made with applesauce.They will make their recipes available to our clients, so they can better utilize items from our food pantry. This activity is a community outreach and involvement effort, spearheaded by Julie Stauffer, executive director of ASK youth organization.

We are delighted that they provide this service to our food pantry clients.

 
 
Due to the significant decrease in funding from grants and pledges in the recent months, maintaining adequate supply for our food pantry has become our number one priority. To meet the current demand throughout the summer, large quantities of necessary pantry items cost nearly $10,000 each month.
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To illustrate the continued need to restock the food pantry, see the bounty of pantry items donated by two local food drives (photo below). Food drives are a great way to replenish the food pantry needs. However, what you don’t see from this image is that just seven days later, the items were depleted and the food pantry shelves were vacant.
With the loss of over $30,000 in funding, continued financial support is critical, now more than ever.There are ways you can help grow support and awareness for this urgent need. Local organizations, individuals and private businesses are leading their own food drives to help restock our food pantry shelves this summer and have included Encore Performing Arts, Maurice, Goody's, Quintin Flagg, Plymouth LP Gas, Plymouth Public Library, United States Postal Service, Washington Elementary School and Wythougan Toastmasters. We want to thank all of these groups and the individuals who donated to these drives to help us in the recent months.
 
Serving over 1200 families throughout Marshall County, there is an urgent need for more items to be replenished on an ongoing basis. Will you and your large group help us by leading a food drive?

We are seeking companies, service organizations, youth groups, students and ministries to lead up the efforts for a food drive. You may contact Sara Hill by calling the office, 936-3388, for details on the types of pantry items currently needed at the time of your drive. We’ve also provided a list of nine easy steps for you to take for a successful food drive,  see checklist  >

 
 
   #1    Contact MCNC with details. (Call during office hours, (574) 936-3388)
   #2    Schedule your drive date/s.
   #3    Select a theme. 
   (examples: PB&J Drive, Birthday Cake Drive, Summer Sandwich Stuffins, Noodle Needs, etc. )
   #4    Promote your drive. (suggestions: send press announcement, print flyers, add to Facebook, blog, web site, etc.)
   #5    Solicit from your own family, friends, staff, customers, etc.
   #6    Place a large container with your food drive info to collect the items. 
   #7    Provide a reward or discount for donated items. (examples: $2 off purchases for customers, pizza party if a goal is reached, special parking spot for the most items collected, etc.)
   #8    Take a photo of the items collected and email them to us so we can recognize your drive and its efforts.
   #9    Deliver the items to MCNC.


 
 
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Fiesta Salon is hosting a food drive for the Neighborhood Center next week. 

Fiesta customers will receive a $2 to $4 discount off their styling, just for bringing non-perishable food items to the salon during their visit.  

The drive will begin on Monday, Aug. 22 and continue through the week until Sunday, Aug. 28.  The Fiesta employees are excited to serve our community and they are hoping for a great turnout.


Contact the salon for details:
FIESTA SALONS
PLYMOUTH PLAZA 2007 N MICHIGAN ST
PLYMOUTH, IN 46563
(574) 935-9984


Want to learn more about how you can participate in leading your own food drive? Check out the three easy steps you can take to help by clicking here >

We want to say thank you to Fiesta and its customers in advance for showing your support for the Neighborhood Center! (Please share photos with us if you can.)