Last Sunday, members of the SLOBs (Service League of Boys) helped the town help those in need by moving a truckload of Thanksgiving donations into the New Canaan Food Pantry at St. Mark's Church.
As in Thanksgiving seasons past, there was an incredible show of generosity from different food drives held at The Presbyterian Church and at St. Aloysius Church. After the donations came in, the SLOBs moved in -- to get the donations where they needed to go.
Ryan Christie was the Junior Class liason for the community service project along with his parents Indira Christie and Patrick Christie. The job of the project, open to SLOBs from all grades at NCHS and their parents, was to unload the truck, which the boys did. After that they helped stock hundreds of bags of groceries -- above and beyond the ones that were unloaded -- to help the pantry get ready for Thanksgiving.
Indira Christie told About Town, "Each class in the SLOB organization develops a project that they take ownership of. This year, the Junior Class chose to help those in need during this special time of the year.
The thirty plus young men and parents who were a part of this group were incredible. They came with such energy, and with an attitude to really want to help the New Canaan Food Pantry. Not only was a truck unloaded, but hundreds of bags of groceries from many organizations around town, which badly needed to be addressed for Thanksgiving distribution, were categorized and shelved into the pantry rooms. Days of work was done in hours. This was a great way for the boys to give back and contribute during a season of Thanksgiving."
Tracey Gould, one of many dedicated food pantry volunteers said, "The SLOBs were so helpful. It was a Junior class project but many hands helped out. I am on the board of SLOBs and have been volunteering at the food pantry for four years. We need to help get the donations in the door, shelved, and then right back out to the clients. Both my senior son and freshmen son belong to SLOBs. It's a great opportunity for the boys to get involved with "giving back" to the community and helping others. The food pantry is such a special place. We help out a lot of folks in town and we try to make them feel a little more comfortable. "
Ryan Christie, proud of the group's contribution, told About Town, "The Junior Class Project for SLOBs, at the food pantry was a great all round effort from everyone that participated. From unloading the truck load of donations, to re-stocking the shelves, we accomplished a very large amount of work with the food pantry. This project was a great way to give back to the community, especially when Thanksgiving is right around the corner!"
