Cruise Store collecting toiletries for the homeless

Date: 12/21/2009

By Debbie Gardner

Assistant Managing Editor



EAST LONGMEADOW -- Like so many others, Don Anderson, owner of The Cruise Store, found out about the downtown Springfield chapel's personal care item collection for the homeless on Facebook.

"I'm a Facebook fan of Garvey Communications and a friend of John [Garvey]'s," Anderson told Reminder Publications. "I saw the post [about the collection at St. Francis's Chapel on Bridge Street] and realized that for many, downtown Springfield may not be the most convenient dropoff location."

So Anderson took it upon himself to turn his business' location into a satelite donation site for the chapel's collection efforts.

On Dec. 4 he began posting messages about the collection on his company's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/cruisestore, and also on his personal page encouraging his Facebook friends and fans to bring their donations to The Cruise Store at 55 Maple St.

According to Anderson, this particular drive is focusing on personal care items such as travel-size bars of soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoos and deoderants as well as new socks and underwear.

"We started with a box [under our Christmas tree] and now we have a village [of donations]," he said. "We've had a couple of dentists who have been very generous, Dr. James Maslowski from Acres Dental and Dr. Larry Life from Meadows Place Dental, and we've had a number of local people donate."

He said his Facebook posts even prompted a donation from a Boston-based salesperson who stopped by on a sales call.

"He travels a lot and he dropped off a bag of those little soaps he'd collected," Anderson said.

Anderson said The Cruise Store, which is open Mon.- Fri 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and on Sat., 9:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m., will be accepting donations for St. Francis' Chapel personal care items collection until "just before Christmas, then we'll take them down [to the chapel]."

In addition to The Cruise Store collection point, donations can also be dropped off at St. Francis Chapel, 254 Bridge St., Mon.- Fri. from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information about this collection, including a video hosted by Tony Cignoli of the A.L. Cignoli Company and Mary Fallon of Garvey Communication Associates Inc. that explains the drive visit z, a href="http://www.facebook.com/StFrancisChapel" target="new">www.facebook.com/StFrancisChapel.