Throughout the pandemic, Dover’s Paulette Sirois hasn’t been able to see her grandchildren.
Volunteering to help the nonprofit Gather pantry distribute food to those in need on the Seacoast has helped her get through it.
“Through COVID, it really kept me sane, being able to do something positive and not focus on the negative that was there, which for me was not being able to see my grandchildren,” Sirois said.
Sirois said she has been volunteering since August. She had started an outdoor pop-up pantry at her church in Newington, and saw Gather set up outside the nearby Mall at Fox Run.
“I happened to be driving by one day, going to buy products for ours, and I saw these tents set up, and I said, ‘What is that?’” Sirois said.
Sirois drove over and met Scott McKee, president of Gather’s board of directors, and decided to volunteer with the nonprofit organization a few days a week in addition to running her own pantry at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.
“I’m embarrassed to say that I have lived in Dover most of my life, and I had never heard of Gather, and it is an organization that checks all my boxes,” Sirois said.
On Tuesday, Sirois was with the Gather team in Rochester at Cold Spring Manor, which is part of the city’s housing authority. They were running a mobile market and Meals 4 Kids.
Among those in line were Sasha Thibodeau and Tameka Kennedy of Rochester.
Thibodeau and Kennedy said the food has helped to ensure that the seven children in their combined care have the nutrition they need.
“We struggle to go food shopping sometimes, so we have this food to go back on when we can’t go shopping, and they love getting the food here. It’s like a treasure for them,” Thibodeau said.
Sasha Thibodeau of Rochester holds Violet, her 2-year-old niece, at Gather’s Meals 4 Kids program on Tuesday in Rochester.
Thibodeau said she has seen an improvement in her 2-year-old niece’s growth since she started getting the fresh fruits and vegetables Gather provides.
Also in line were Dan and Pat Brown of Rochester. They were getting food from the mobile market for their daughter and a neighbor.
Pat Brown said the neighbor they are helping used to provide child care services and has not been able to because of COVID.
“A lot of people have lost their jobs,” Pat Brown said.
Dan Brown, who is retired from the Air Force, said he doesn’t know why more people don’t take advantage of the free markets Gather offers.
For Nikki Leavitt of Berwick, Maine, Tuesday was her first time volunteering with Gather. As a teller at Kennebunk Savings Bank, she was paid by her company to be there as part of their commitment to the community.
“I love it. I’ve already signed up for the next two Tuesdays after this one, so yes, I’m very excited,” she said. “I can’t wait to come back. I think it’s great.”
Leavitt said she learned about the opportunity to help after Gather went to her workplace one day to tell employees about what they are doing. She and her husband, Kevin, later signed up to volunteer online.
Seneca Bernard, Gather’s associate executive director, said their mobile market and Meals 4 Kids programs are successful because it is easier to bring food to people than to expect them to go to Portsmouth, where the organization is located.
Gather covers eight towns and makes about 10 pantry stops a week. Each stop requires between six and 10 volunteers, Bernard said.
“It’s a variety of volunteers who come. Some volunteers come every single week, some come once a month. Some come in for a few months and then go off to the next thing they’re doing,” Bernard said.
Gather has distributed more than one million pounds of food during the pandemic and has been named a 2021 Champion in Action by Citizens Financial Group in the category of COVID-19 relief.
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April 18, 2021 at 07:00AM
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