East Longmeadow Public Library events aimed at giving to youth in need

Date: 11/25/2014

EAST LONGMEADOW –  It’s the season for giving and two events at the East Longmeadow Public Library (ELPL) are aimed at helping out youth in need through food and holiday gift donations.

The Junior Advisory Council (JAC) of the ELPL’s children department, consisting of students in grades 5 and 6, will host a food drive starting on Dec. 1 that will be donated to the Rachel’s Table Teen Board, which supports the Holyoke Public School backpack program.

Michele Lemire, children’s assistant at ELPL, said the backpack program is designed to feed homeless youth in Holyoke who sometimes have no food during the weekends.

“We certainly don’t want to see any children go hungry over the weekends,” she added. “During the school, I think they probably get breakfast, lunch, and something for after school. We as a community should never have children go hungry.” 

Since 1992, Rachel’s Table, a project of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts and WWLP-TV22, has been working to alleviate hunger across Western Massachusetts, according to the organization’s website.

“[Rachel’s Table] feels that there are over 500 homeless children [in Holyoke],” Lemire explained. “They are currently supporting over 150 [youth] right now.”

More than 200 volunteers collect food six days a week from local supermarkets, bakeries, and restaurants to deliver to 43 agencies, including soup kitchens, food pantries, and shelters.

Rachel’s Table has agencies in Longmeadow, Springfield, Feeding Hills, Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, and Indian Orchard.

“[JAC members] chose this as a service project and somehow it spoke to them of helping other children who are less fortunate,” ELPL Children’s Librarian Jennifer Kinder said.

Lemire said donated food items should be packaged in individual portions and suggested items include tuna, chicken in a can, beef ravioli or spaghetti and meatballs, individual macaroni and cheese packages, peanut butter and cracker packets, fruit cups, canned fruit or vegetables, and other canned meals.

From Dec. 1 to 13, the JAC will collect donated pre packaged and individual portion food items, added Kinder.

An event will take place at ELPL on Dec. 13 from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

“The Giving Tree,” a partnership program with The Family Place of Holyoke, a 28-unit congregate homeless shelter serving more than 100 local area children of all ages, will also start on Dec. 1.

“What we do is we set up a [holiday] tree and we have tags on the tree,” Kinder said. “This is based on the list of children that we get from the shelter, no names, but the age of a child and maybe some ideas for a gift. So, people come and they’ll take one of the tags and they’ll bring back a new gift that’s unwrapped.”

Tags will be available on Dec 1 and must be returned by Dec. 17, she added. Shortly after that, staff from the Family Place will bring the gifts for a holiday party for homeless youth.

“[The giving tree] has been a wonderful resource,” Karen Girard, program director of the Family Place shelter at 288 Oak Street, said. “Without it, some of these children would receive no gifts at all. Some of these families just don’t have the money.”

 The Family Place is a program of the New England Farm Workers’ Council that serves families throughout the Commonwealth, Girard explained. The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development refers families to the program.

Kinder said the Giving Tree has taken place at ELPL for more than a decade. Last year, the program saw a 100 percent success rate on tag returns. There were about 102 tags, which represent youth from infancy to age 17.

“I think that it’s an important modeling for the children that come into our library,” she explained. “I think that the parent patrons that we have like having this way of showing their child that it’s good to give.”

For more information about the JAC food drive or the giving tree call 525-5400 x1506.