Covenant to Care for Foster Families matches a Cape Cod and Islands congregation or civic group with a foster family to support that family and the children in their care. This program works along with the Cape’s District Office of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF). Liaisons, who are volunteers from congregations or civic groups, help the families with emotional support and other needs for the foster children in their homes. Foster families have been very grateful and have enjoyed participating in this program. The liaisons have shared that they have a rewarding and grateful feeling while working with foster families.

In addition to this support, the “Fostering a Dream Fund” offers small grants to cover special needs, such as sports fees, enrichment lessons, equipment, summer camp fees, etc. Foster families can apply to receive funding for each child in their foster care, up to a limit of $400 per calendar year. Please share with the foster families in your congregation this great opportunity to apply for financial assistance. Doing outreach in our community events and visiting churches, civic groups, and other agencies have been great experiences and we have been able to connect to our community in different ways offering our services and also acquiring support for the program.

If you know a foster family, please tell them about this great program that is available for them. Also, if you are a member of a congregation or civic group that would like to volunteer, please contact Natalia Albino Frois at 774-487-2369 or at ctocaredirector@gmail.com.

For more information we can come to a service in your congregation to explain about the Covenant to Care Program or to a meeting in your agency.  

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Faith Family Kitchen

The Faith Family Kitchen continues to benefit from the generosity of so many people in our community.

• Fran Bradshaw, Vinfen Homeless Outreach Team Lead, has coordinated volunteers to deliver weekly surplus food donations from McDonald's of South Yarmouth. These frozen items find their way into many of the meals and snacks we prepare for our guests,
• Holly Rogers of Red’s Pet Food Pantry provided about 100 pounds of canned and dry dog and cat food to distribute. (So far there are definitely more dogs!)
• Our program orders monthly from food wholesaler Sysco Boston. This month, long-time volunteer and Sysco manager Chris Lerch and our sales rep Michele Brooks brought a team of volunteers from Sysco to serve a nightly meal. Of course, we proudly prepared chicken parm and pasta to showcase the products we love from them.
• Cotuit Federated Church has had an ongoing sock drive, appearing weekly with new socks which are gratefully taken as quickly as they appear.
• Northside Methodist’s team brought home baked brownies to distribute as the nightly dessert.
• First Church, Sandwich brought us fresh fruit.
• Baybridge Clubhouse appears at our back door routinely with fresh produce for us.
• Matt Lavesque continues to stop at our kitchen weekly with fresh produce, bakery items, and prepared sandwiches and salads from Trader Joe’s.
• Andrea Marczely, Barnstable County Food Access Coordinator, delivers our meals to guests that Duffy Health Center has provided hotel rooms for. In addition she coordinates pick up of food rescue items from Target Hyannis, and soon Stop and Shop.

With all this good food at hand, we are so pleased to have many more people coming through our door. We still pack a large number of meals to go, but our “dine-in” crowd is growing. Everyone can feel the good energy to have our old AND new friends in our dining room again.

Cathy Cugini
Interim Chef/Director, Faith Family Kitchen

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Hands of Hope Food Pantry and Outreach Center

It has been a struggle for most of the winter keeping up with the amount of food needed in the pantry and for deliveries. In January, we were delighted to receive over 2500 cans of soup from six area churches as part of our "Souper Bowl" - thank you!  March has been a very productive month for donations. We thank you all for the support. A list of food items always requested besides the soup, rice, dairy, meat, vegetables and fruits we can provide is below. Thanks for collecting and dropping off to us. Gift cards are always needed as well. We are also hoping for a few more volunteers to help out in the pantry. Please call 508-432-1312 if you can spare 2-3 hours to give out food.

The following items are needed in our food pantry:

• Pasta Sauce & Macaroni or Spaghetti
• Cereal
• Canned Peaches
• Hash, Manwich
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Kids Snacks
• Spam and Tuna
• Hamburger Helper, Pasta Roni, Stuffing
• Mayo, Ketchup, Pickles, Onions
• Baked Beans                             Pantry volunteers Sherri Williams & Debbie Noonan

Food donations are accepted Monday 10-3, Friday 10-1, or Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday 1-3. We are also open Wednesday 4-6 in the winter. Or call us at 508-432-1312 to make other arrangements.

The newest edition of “Touring the Thrift Shops of Cape Cod” brochure, produced by Hands of Hope, is currently being compiled. Shops that have been in the brochure before have been contacted and have until April 30 to send us their current ad. Reprinting is scheduled for may with new brochures ready for pick up late may or early June.

Visit our thrift shop which helps support operating expenses for Hands of Hope! Hours are Tuesday-Thursday and also Saturday 10-1. Accepting clothing, small furniture, jewelry, books, cookware, housewares, yarn, linens etc every day we are open. The shop has only 2 rooms but they are full of things to check out. Anyone who would like to volunteer, please call Cathy at 508-432-1312, We could use some more people in the thrift shop so we can be open more days or longer hours.
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Thank you, and Happy Spring!! Cathy Driscoll
Director, Hands of Hope Food Pantry and Outreach Center
 

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Homeless Ministries -
Youth StreetReach & Here Now Ministries

Youth StreetReach
Youth StreetReach has continued to provide food, clothing, and hospitality for many individuals at our Hyannis location at the First Baptist Church.  Our next breakfast will be April 22nd from 7-9:30am.  If you are interested in volunteering please contact Marilyn Lariviere at mlariv@comcast.net or text 508-776-6069.  We always need groups of teens and adults to help with this program.
 

YSR founding member, Kelsey Collett Camire      Barber Frankie provided haircuts!         

Some of our youth volunteers!

We have some exciting news to share about expanding to the Falmouth area.  The poster below gives all the particulars. We are grateful to Danielle Dallis, Rev Jonathan Drury and the First Congregational Church of Falmouth for opening their doors to host a breakfast on May 27th. Join us! 

Marilyn Lariviere
Director, Homeless Ministries
 

Here Now Ministries
Thank you all for a very successful outdoor ministry service on Sunday, March 26..  We were able to reach out in love to over 10 folks, and help them to know that they matter, that they are Loved. I know we all have our individual stories to tell after each service and I wanted to share this one with you.
 
I checked in with a couple of folks who were on the steps and asked to be reminded of someone’s name.  He said his nickname and I responded “Oh right," and said his full name. He backed up and said “Whoa.”  Worried that I took a misstep in fully identifying him, I backpedaled a little and reminded him of how I would know that.  He said “Yeah, but I’m still amazed that anyone would care enough to know my whole name.” 

Friends, these folks that we worship with, these folks that we serve ….these folks are so touched by a simple thing, like remembering their name.  It is a reminder to me that what we so often take for granted is not so typical with folks who have been neglected, marginalized and cast aside by society. Thank you all for being a loving, compassionate, caring presence for these folks and for so many others.  
 
Next service:  April 23, collecting rain ponchos, waterproof blankets, NEW white socks.  Also, lunch, snacks, coffee, waters.
 
May 28^th service, Memorial Day Weekend, we are suggesting a BBQ  lunch, simple stuff.  Hot dogs, hamburgers, individual bags of chips, cookies, watermelon, condiments.  We will also have the usual offerings of socks and toiletries, and start our summer T-Shirt collections for May, June, July, & August.
 
June 25, July 23, August 27:  Summer collections of Socks and T-shirts, sandwiches and snacks, lots of water.  I will bring a water bottle filling station so folks can fill their water bottles or have cups of water at the services and take water bottles with them when they go.
 
Thanks and Blessings!
 
Rev. Pam Wannie
Pastor for Homeless Ministries