Testimonials

Lynnfield Daisy Troop #62032

During the month of March 2009, the Lynnfield Daisy Troop #62032 gathered spare change in colorful take-out food containers. The girls involved their families, asking parents, siblings and grandparents to help those in need and who are having a hard time paying for their groceries. The girls raised $109.06.  The girls also earned their rose colored Daisy Learning Petals for making the world a better place. The girls were so proud of themselves and learned a valuable lesson about helping those in need. Our Daisy Troop will definitely gather change every year.

On Monday, February 16, 2009, Gathering Change, Inc., was able to make a $1000 donation to the Wakefield Interfaith Food Pantry. This is our third distribution to the Interfaith Food Pantry since beginning to collect spare change on October 18, 2008. On behalf of everyone at Gathering Change, Inc., I want to say thank you to Wakefield for your continued support, and a special thank you to Megan McLean and her friends for raising almost $800 in spare change. As some of you may recall Megan decided to celebrate her 14th birthday by asking her friends to bring spare change in lieu of gifts. This is the perfect example of what happens when we come together as a community. 

My name is MM and I am an 8th grader at Galvin Middle School in Wakefield. On December 31, 2008 I celebrated the New Year AND my 14th birthday with twenty of my girlfriends. Along with my party invitations I enclosed the following note:

Dear Friends,

I have a special birthday request...
With each passing birthday, I have come to realize more and more how very lucky I am to have a warm home, plenty to eat, new clothes, a loving family, and wonderful friends. This year in particular, I am well aware that there are many others in our community that are far less fortunate than I. So, for my birthday, I would like to start a tradition of making a "MM Birthday" donation to "Gathering Change, Inc." This is a new organization in Wakefield that collects spare change and donates it to those in our community that are in need. You may visit their website at: http://gatheringchangeinc.org/. So, in lieu of birthday gifts, I am requesting that you please instead bring along any spare change you may have. Your gift of  "change"  will be the best gift of all!

Lots of Love,

M

As you can see by the picture above, my party was a huge success! We all sang and danced, ate and laughed, hugged and celebrated. But, most importantly, we all took a moment to feel especially proud of what we had done. Each of my friends was incredibly generous and kind. They all brought a "gift of change." Together we gathered $718.03 for the first "MM Birthday" donation to Gathering Change, Inc. Each of us felt really wonderful about bringing a brighter 2009 to others. I could not have been happier! It truly the best birthday ever!!

When we brought the money we raised at our Gathering Change party to the food pantry, we felt awkward at first. We didn't know what to expect when entering the food pantry, and we were not sure what to say. We approached a table by the front door where two women were sitting. They looked at us with a bit of confusion; they seemed to be wondering why we were there. We approached the table saying that we had a monetary donation for the pantry. We explained that we had raised the money by having a Gathering Change party, and that all of our guests brought their spare change. I handed over the envelope with the check, and one of the woman sitting at the table opened it up. She looked shocked and amazed. She introduced herself as the founder of the food pantry. 

We went on to explain that we raised the money as part of an up-and-coming nonprofit called Gathering Change. She asked if she could have some contact information for the organization so that she could look into it and thank the organization for its support. I handed her the Gathering Change brochure and explained a bit more about the organization, while pointing out the website where she could find more information. The women thanked us over and over again and said that the contribution would help so much. The founder of the pantry then stood and shook both of our hands before we left, smiling. 

The whole experience made us feel proud yet humble.

This is a family daycare group in Wakefield making containers to collect change. Some of the containers will go home, some will stay at the day care. The parents arrived in the middle of the activity and were so excited they joined in. The kids glued pictures of healthy food onto their containers and learned about what's healthy to eat, how some people don't have enough money to buy healthy food, how much money is needed to buy a loaf of bread or milk, etc. Now other family day cares are doing their own collections as well. After the kids brought their spare change back, they each received a certificate stating that they had helped out in their community.

We've been so touched, surprised, and delighted by our young donors. Just below is a note we received from one such enterprising (and artistic!) person whose friends brought all their spare change to her birthday party. Thanks to Sydney and all her friends for their generous donation!

The SalemFive Charitable Foundation contributed $2000.00 to Gathering Change Inc. SalemFive's very generous donation will be distributed to food pantries in Salem and surrounding towns where SalemFive has branch offices. We extend our deep appreciation for the generosity of SalemFive Bank and the support of local comunities.

Local Brownie Troop #66779 combined Art with Giving when they created gorgeous change boxes to collect spare change. We are so thankful and inspired by the generosity and enthusiasm of these young women! They raised $155.40!

Our house is not what one would refer to as the "go-to party place". So this year when my husband and I decided to host an outdoor birthday bash for 100 of our relatives and closest friends we wanted to add a sense of meaning to the celebration.

By simply adding a note on the bottom of our invitations indicating "no gifts please, just your spare change for local food pantries" we allowed everyone the opportunity to help others in need.  Our guests could forgo the painful task of shopping for "that special present", the one that takes forever to find and then never seems quite right.  

The party became a perfect opportunity to show how neighbors can help neighbors.  The change came wrapped in glass jars; wine flutes; coffee mugs, plastic containers; or literally out of pockets. Other guests found it just as easy to leave a check. 

In opening the door to our home, we opened the door to our family and friends hearts.  The evening was a celebration of life, love, friendship and gratitude. Our guests donated over $1000 to various local food pantries and other charities including an amazing $770 for Gathering Change, Inc.!

Together we did make a difference, and you can too.