Community Fund Sets Goal At $110,000, EOS Foundation Offers $20,000 Grant

FALMOUTH- During last year’s annual Christmas Parade, shopping carts full of groceries, pushed by workers and volunteers from the Falmouth Service Center, went rolling down Main Street.
It was the first time the service center entered the parade, meant as a way to kick off the food pantry’s 25th anniversary in Falmouth.
As she walked along the parade route, Brenda B. Swain, the center’s executive director, recalled waving to donors, clients, and volunteers lined up on the side of the street. It epitomized what the service center is all about—“neighbors helping neighbors. It reminded me of the saying, ‘There but for the grace of God go I’,” she said. “I remember walking down the parade route and those of us here know all those different players, for us it was the most humbling experience to see everyone shouting hello... It was just an example of what makes Falmouth a special and amazing place.”
Nearly a year later, that “amazing place” has not been immune to the downturns of the economy. The service center is busier than ever, witnessing a 10 percent increase in clients during the past year, with nearly 40 percent more clients in the past two months.
It is why, she said, this year’s Enterprise Community Fund is more important than ever. The charity drive supports the service center, giving 100 percent of its contributions made by donors to the nonprofit.
Last year, just over $105,000 was raised. The goal this year is to raise $110,000.
If that goal is reached, the EOS Foundation has pledged an additional $20,000 toward the drive.
“We are hoping the community will rise to the occasion because there are so many people who are in need of help that didn’t need it before,” Ms. Swain said. “Everyone is hurting because of this financial crisis.”
Recently, one mother of a special needs child visited the center for assistance. She had two jobs, Ms. Swain said, and was not only caring for her daughter, but her elderly mother.
“This person was not behind on any bills, but was just trying to plan ahead to make sure she can continue to care for her special needs daughter and elderly mother,” she said. “It is these types of people we are seeing more of, that are doing everything they can their whole life to make ends meet, but then something might happen that could affect everything.” 
In addition to the economic climate, she attributed the recent spike in clients to the efforts of the past year as part of the center’s 25th anniversary. Having been with the nonprofit since 2002, she said, the center never made a serious attempt to get its message out to the public. “We don’t spend a lot of time doing that because we are so busy,” she said.
Through recent efforts, she said, the service center has been able to better reach those in need, while attracting more volunteers. “We have a lot more volunteers than ever,” she said. “I think people want to do something productive to help their neighbors and it makes you feel better.”
In the past, she said, the service center has always been able to meet those needs, but admitted that the increase in clients has been startling over the past few months. “I don’t think we’ve seen economic times like these in the past, at least not in my lifetime,” she said.
These days food is disappearing off the service center’s shelves just as quickly as it is put on. “It is different from anything I have ever seen before,” she said. “My hope is we will be able to keep up with the need.”
As a result of the economy, the service center has had to adjust the way it does business. Common grocery items such as mustard, ketchup, Jell-O, Sloppy Joes, toilet paper, and soups are no longer being purchased or distributed by the pantry. “In the past, we have always been able to buy those things,” she said. “Not having those things available is big for people because they won’t get them unless they pay for them out of their own pockets or use food stamps.”
In addition to providing food to clients, the service center provides financial assistance, fuel assistance, and offers financial workshops to help individuals rethink their budgeting priorities. They also distribute back-to-school supplies and clothes to students, offer Thanksgiving meals, distribute gifts to children during the holidays, and clothing to clients.
A look at the food pantry’s statistics over the past five years shows how much the demand for the nonprofit’s services has gone up. In 2003, more than 8,600 clients were given food with more than 5,800 bags of groceries distributed. More than 2,000 gifts were given to 459 children in 178 families in town.
Last year, nearly 23,000 clients received food with over 21,000 bags of groceries distributed, and a total of 900 children from 418 families were given toys.
She termed the service center “a community within a community. Here people look to help our neighbors in need,” noting that “people have always been generous to us.” She was hopeful that this will continue during the holiday season, at a time when people need help the most.
Yet, even in the most dire times, she conveyed the notion that there seems to be a higher power watching over the service center. She told a story of one deaf client who wanted a certain type of dollhouse for her daughter. Ms. Swain, who knows sign language, communicated with the resident, telling her, “I don’t know if we can get that dollhouse.”
The resident left upset, but afterward, Carol Martin, the assistant director of the service center, turned to Ms. Swain and said, “Didn’t you see the dollhouse upstairs?” Ms. Swain said. “Things like that happen all the time. That is what keeps you going. Somehow we find an answer. You never know how or why, but it happens.”