We will hold our first food drive of 2010 at Glen’s Market in Boyne City on Saturday, January 16.  The drive will benefit the NEW Boyne Falls Pantry, as well as the Boyne City Community Pantry and the Boyne Area Free Clinic.  We have heard that January is the most difficult month for food pantries, so we decided to wait until then to do our next drive.  Several other organizations hold events around the holidays and then the pantries are forgotten.  We need volunteers to work in two-hour shifts, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.   Please call Barb at 582-0416 to volunteer or email us at charlevoixdems@aim.com.

We have held four food drives in 2009, collecting nearly 50 cartloads of food for four area food pantries and supplies for the Boyne Area Free Clinic, as well as $2000 in cash and checks.   The drives were held twice in Boyne City and once each in Charlevoix and East Jordan.  

We hand out slips of paper at the door with lists of the items the pantries or free clinic need and ask that the shopper leave the item with us on the way out.  Many people really want to help out the less fortunate in the county, but don’t know how to do it.  They appreciate how easy we make it for them to donate.  If you want to help, but are unable to volunteer at the drives, you can mail a check, made out to the pantry, to us at:  Charlevoix County Democratic Party, P. O. Box 651, Boyne City, MI  49712.

If you would like to volunteer in future food drives, please contact us at charlevoixdems@aim.com or call Barb at 582-0416.  Those of us who have done it have found it a very rewarding experience.