Newtown Friends Meeting

Newtown Quaker Kids Raise $869.11 for Penndel Food Pantry

Newtown Friends Meeting children handing over check to
Penndel Food Pantry Volunteer Coordinator, Karen Houser

The children of Newtown Friends Meeting select at least one charity to support each year and host a fund raiser on its behalf. This year, the beneficiary was the Penndel Food Pantry. Other recent projects have included "Heifer International,” “The Friends Center Green Building Project” in Philadelphia, and “Save Darfur.”

Over forty young people, ages 5 through 16, were involved in hosting the lasagna dinner for over 110 people at the historic Newtown Friends Meetinghouse at 219 Court Street, Newtown. The meal was served by the first through fourth graders, and the older students sold tickets and handled the clean-up. They raised a whopping $869.11 in cash plus several boxes of donated food for the Penndel Food Pantry.

Karen Houser, Volunteer Coordinator of the Penndel Food Pantry, said, “This is terrific. We need food and cash now more than ever. Last month in April, we set a record by feeding 2,000 people from the Penndel Pantry alone.”

The Penndel Pantry is one of several Community Food Pantries run by the Bucks County Housing Group, and they have seen growing needs in recent months as the economy has worsened.

The dinner was supervised by the Religious Education Committee of Newtown Meeting -- Almira Sharp, Todd Van Hart, Angie Ratliff, Wendy Kane, Rebecca Bancroft and Katharine Borish, Karen Vorhees, Pam Skinner, Hanna Kane, Laura Kinnel, and Mike Roza.

Each Sunday, Newtown Meeting has First Day (Sunday) School for children and adults at 9:45 a.m., followed by worship in the manner of Friends at 11:00 a.m. with people speaking out of the silence. Child Care is provided, and coffee, juice and snacks are served in the Gathering Room after meeting for worship. The public is welcome at all events.