Feeding Families This Thanksgiving Holiday: Oldendorp Group & Summit Area YMCA
As a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping every individual reach their fullest potential, the Summit Area YMCA believes in the importance of providing children and families with access to healthy, nutritious food, to provide a foundation on which individuals can learn, grow and thrive.
Since 2017, we have been working with community partners in finding ways to combat against food insecurity in our local communities. Selfless Y volunteers collected, packaged and distributed over 2,638 healthy food packs to families in need this year; and fresh produce is grown locally at the Summit ACHIEVE Community Garden, which brings neighbors together to share the benefits of organic gardening for a healthier community while donating to local food pantries. The Summit Area YMCA, its partners and its volunteers are dedicated to ensuring that no family go hungry.
On November 23, 2021, local realtor The Oldendorp Group generously donated 10 full Thanksgiving meals to the Summit Area YMCA, to be distributed to struggling families in and around Summit. Each meal consisted of a turkey, five traditional Thanksgiving side dishes, apple pie and a $25 gift card to Shop-Rite. The Oldendorp Group coordinated the donation and team members, Neal Oldendorp, Debbie Hayford, Zander Oldendorp, and Charlie Oldendorp, came to deliver the Thanksgiving meals to the Summit YMCA.
"We feel very grateful and fortunate that we’re able to partner with the Summit Area YMCA. This year we donated 10 Thanksgiving dinners to local families. We started doing this about 5 years ago and it always amazed me to hear that there were so many families in Summit that needed food. We’re thankful that we’re able to provide meals to these families and hopefully we can do it for many years to come," said Zander Oldendorp, Real Estate Consultant at The Oldendorp Group.
The Summit Area YMCA worked together to identify families to receive these meals, coordinated by Patty Facchinei, Summit Area YMCA - Financial Aid & Volunteer Coordinator. "I’ve spoken to some of the families and they are very happy to receive these meals. Prices have been increasing and that’s tough for a lot of people, but for some of these families, they may not have been able to have a Thanksgiving dinner this year. We’re very happy that we’ve partnered with the Oldendorp Group and that we’re able to do this," said Patty Facchinei. With additional help from Tiffany Escott, Summit Area YMCA - Mission Advancement and Development Director, Patty delivered all of the meals on the same day of donation.
We, at the Summit Area YMCA, are sincerely grateful to the thoughtful and bounteous donation from the Oldendorp Group and on behalf of all the receiving families, thank you for your support and love!
Learn more about the Summit Area YMCA's Family Packs Program.
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SUMMIT AREA YMCA
BERKELEY HEIGHTS YMCA | SUMMIT YMCA | THE LEARNING CIRCLE YMCA
In 1886, we were founded as the Young Men's Christian Association, but today, we are The Y. An association that values, and is made stronger by, its diverse people. We stand for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility — For a better us. We are committed to creating equal opportunity for all regardless of gender, age, disability, income, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religious affiliation. We strive to create a welcoming and inclusive culture in which our four core values — responsibility, honesty, caring and respect — are integral to everyday operations.
Each year, as one of the area’s leading 501(c)3 charitable organizations, the Summit Area YMCA serves more than 15,000 individuals with our free and fee-based programs and services in an area spanning the New Jersey communities of Berkeley Heights, Gillette, Millburn, New Providence, Short Hills, Springfield, Stirling and Summit. Our history is rooted in working side-by-side with our neighbors to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive. Through the generosity of our members, donors, and partners, we are able to offer financial assistance for our programs and services to those in need.