“Everyone has a story” and you never know when you’ll stumble across the next one. The longer I’m around the more I see that to be true.
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| Pepper Pot waitresses, Melissa Plourde, Diane Marek and Carmella Lucawecki with gifts for the Adopt-a-Family program. |
For example, I happened to be at the Pepper Pot after a breakfast meeting on Friday, December 5th. It’s not uncommon to run into people you know and exchange a few friendly words at that local restaurant. Just about to leave, I spied Jack Eisenmann, Executive Director of United Way of Southington, talking to Diane Marek, a waitstaff mainstay and picked up that Jack was on some kind of mission.
Curious, as always, I caught Jack’s eye and I asked what he was up to.
Pointing to five large shopping bags near the entrance, Jack said, picking up some gifts for the Adopt-a-Family holiday program, (sponsored by Southington Community Services, one of United Way's associated charitable agencies.
Curious, as always, I caught Jack’s eye and I asked what he was up to.
Pointing to five large shopping bags near the entrance, Jack said, picking up some gifts for the Adopt-a-Family holiday program, (sponsored by Southington Community Services, one of United Way's associated charitable agencies.
I asked Diane to tell me what this was about.
"Each year at this time, we, (the Pepper Pot staff and owner, Susan Acevedo). pitch in together to buy gifts for a family.”, Diane said. She contacts Janet Mellon, (Director of Southington Community Services), to get a list of the needs of a family in need.
This year Diane and her daughter, Melissa Plourde, also a waitress at the Pepper Pot, then went shopping with the staff's contributions and lists of suggested gifts for the family. I asked Diane what kind of gifts they had bought for the anonymous family. “We followed the list pretty much and bought them sheets, linens, pots and pans, dishes and dinnerware. That's what the mother had asked for. The list included a few things for the three children, aged 7, 3 and seven months. We bought dolls, which one of the girls had asked for, musical toys, clothes for the children and baby clothes for the infant. The mother did not want anything personal for herself." Melissa said, "We loved doing it. It was fun.”
"Each year at this time, we, (the Pepper Pot staff and owner, Susan Acevedo). pitch in together to buy gifts for a family.”, Diane said. She contacts Janet Mellon, (Director of Southington Community Services), to get a list of the needs of a family in need.
This year Diane and her daughter, Melissa Plourde, also a waitress at the Pepper Pot, then went shopping with the staff's contributions and lists of suggested gifts for the family. I asked Diane what kind of gifts they had bought for the anonymous family. “We followed the list pretty much and bought them sheets, linens, pots and pans, dishes and dinnerware. That's what the mother had asked for. The list included a few things for the three children, aged 7, 3 and seven months. We bought dolls, which one of the girls had asked for, musical toys, clothes for the children and baby clothes for the infant. The mother did not want anything personal for herself." Melissa said, "We loved doing it. It was fun.”
Pepper Pot owner, Acevedo, who keeps a low profile, said, “The employees like doing this. They do it every year. I think it is good.”
The Online edition of Appleseed presents excerpts of Dick Fortunato's weekly Appleseed column as published in the Southington Citizen plus other stories that capture special moments in Southington, the warm spirit of dedicated volunteerism, the good work generosity and genuine compassion of the people of Southington. We invite you to scroll down for previous editions of Appleseed Online.
The Online edition of Appleseed presents excerpts of Dick Fortunato's weekly Appleseed column as published in the Southington Citizen plus other stories that capture special moments in Southington, the warm spirit of dedicated volunteerism, the good work generosity and genuine compassion of the people of Southington. We invite you to scroll down for previous editions of Appleseed Online.
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