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Food Drive Will Collect Items for Watertown’s 2 Food Pantries

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown’s food pantries:

Watertown is served by two food pantries, the Watertown Food Pantry and Watertown Catholic Collaboration Food Pantry, serving approximately 150 families per week. 

On Saturday, October 22 from 12-3 p.m., the pantries will be hosting food drives at 80 Mount Auburn Street and 770 Mount Auburn Street. 

Please help your neighbors by donating needed items including canned fruit, vegetables, tuna, spam, cereal, old fashioned oats, coffee, tea, cooking oil and other shelf stable items. 

For more information on the food drives, sponsored by the Watertown Community Foundation, see the attached flyer and visit www.Watertownfoundation.org. 

Around Town

Watertown Sons & Daughters of Italy Donates to the Food Pantry

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The Watertown Sons & Daughters of Italy made a donation to the Watertown Food Pantry. From Left to Right: Watertown Food Pantry Coordinator Kathy Cunningham, Event Chairman
Mark Pettiglio, Comedian Jack Lynch, Watertown Sons & Daughters of Italy President Antonio
Mastantuono and Watertown Sons & Daughters of Italy Member Robert Martins. The following information was provided by the Watertown Sons & Daughters of Italy Lodge:

This month the Watertown Sons & Daughters of Italy Lodge Piave Fiume #1036, an affiliate Lodge of the National Order Sons of Italy in America, presented a check of $5,000 dollars to the Watertown Food Pantry, along with food items. The donation was made possible by hosting a comedy night fundraiser in June. Late February of 2022 the ceiling of the basement at Belmont Watertown United Methodist Church, which houses many programs and services including the Watertown Food Pantry, collapsed. “Food pantries and recovery programs were hit the hardest during the pandemic,” says event chairman, Mark Petteglio, “once we heard the ceiling collapsed we knew we needed to help.

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Watertown Fitness Studio Offers Free Mother’s Day Event to Support Food Pantry

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Get Lively health and fitness coach Jan Taylor will be offering a free Mother’s Day Bootcamp which will benefit the Watertown Food Pantry. The following announcement was provided by Get Lively:

Watertown-based Get Lively®: Health & Fitness (Get Lively) is offering a free bootcamp-style class for all fitness levels on Sunday, May 8 from 9 to 10:30 a.m., followed by coffee and brunch bites. People are encouraged to bring someone with them: a mother, sister, friend or anyone else. All are welcome. WHAT: FREE Mother’s Day Bootcamp Brunch 2022WHEN: Sunday, May 8, 9-10:30 a.m.WHERE: Get Lively®: Health & Fitness (100 Parker St, Watertown)WHY: Community Support (and a great workout to start the day)

While the class and brunch are free, Get Lively is assembling gift bags for women in need via the Watertown Food Pantry and would love for people to bring a new shampoo and conditioner to be included in the bags.

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Watertown Scouts Running Food Drive for Local Food Pantry on Nov. 20

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Troop 30Watertown Troop and Pack 30 will be collecting items for the Watertown Food Pantry on Nov. 20. The following announcement was provided by Troop 30:

Shopping for Thanksgiving? Put a few cans aside for the scouts, who are again running Watertown Food Pantry’s biggest food drive. 

On November 20 BSA scouts are collecting food for the Watertown food pantry. You can help by dropping off shelf-stable toiletries and food, noon-3 p.m., at 80 Mt.

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Watertown Food Pantry Coordinator Named a Commonwealth Heroine

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Kathleen Cunningham, coordinator of the Watertown Food Pantry, received the Commonwealth Heroine award recently. She was recommended for the honor by State Rep. Steve Owens, shown right. State Rep. Steve Owens provided the following announcement:

Kathleen Cunningham, of Watertown, was honored as a member of the 2021 class of Commonwealth Heroines. Recommended by State Rep. Steve Owens and selected by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women (MCSW), Cunningham joins over one hundred other women who were recognized for their “unheralded acts on a daily basis that make our homes, neighborhoods, cities, and towns better places to live” according to a statement released by the MCSW. Cunningham serves as the Coordinator of the Watertown Food Pantry, which continues to be a vital resource for community members in the area.

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Watertown Scouts Collected over 5,000 Lbs. of Donations for Watertown Food Pantry

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Watertown Scout Tage Weeden pushes a cart load of donations into the Watertown Food Pantry. The following announcement was provided by Watertown Troop 30:

Scouts collected 2.5 tons of food for the food pantry this past November, but both the Coronavirus pandemic and the resulting unemployment in Watertown has hit our community hard. At the November drive Kathleen Cunningham, Director of the Watertown Food Pantry made an unusual request: Could another food drive be held soon? Scouting for Food is a service project the BSA Scouts have participated in for years: Supporting a local food pantry, scouts across the U.S. collect food once a year, usually around Thanksgiving when many are feeling generous. Scouting for Food in Watertown is a tradition near to the scouts’ hearts: Both the Watertown Food Pantry and the scouts call the Watertown-Belmont United Methodist Church at 80 Mt.

Around Town

Watertown Scouts Collecting Items for Watertown Food Pantry

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Watertown Scouts collected 2.5 tons of food in the fall, and will be having another food drive in March. Watertown Scout Troop 30 provided the following announcement:

The 2.5 tons of food collected by scouts in November has gone to meet an unprecedented need in our community, so scouts are asking you again to help. March 20, 12:30-3 p.m., scouts are collecting shelf-stable food items for the Watertown Food Pantry at 80 Mt. Auburn St. 

Scouting for Food has become a tradition for Scouts in Watertown. Both Troop 30 (age 10-17) and Pack 30 (age 5-10) scouts have made the food drive part of their Thanksgiving tradition, collecting enough food that it’s measured in tons.

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Watertown Scouts Collect Tons of Donations for Food Pantry

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Some of the donations collected by Watertown Troop 30 and Pack 30 for the Watertown Food Pantry. The following announcement was provided by Watertown Scout Troop 30:

Scouts from Troop 30 and Pack 30 combined forces Saturday to collect two-and-half tons of food for the Watertown Food Pantry. In normal times, the Troop (BSA scouts age 10-17) and the Pack (Cub Scouts age 5-10) would solicit donations from customers at Stop & Shop as part of an initiative called Scouting for Food. This year, to keep contact at a minimum and taking Coronavirus precautions, Cub Scouts held a contest to see who could collect the greatest number of donations from neighbors. Cubs flyered their neighborhoods asking for help, and Watertown responded: Cubs collected carloads of groceries totaling 4,941 pounds.