Chelsey Johnson
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Patchers Give 5 (Again!)
While it's so important to give back all year, it is especially meaningful to help those in need during the holiday season. For Give 5 day, an initiative across all of Patch where employees take a day to give back to the very communities they serve, we heard some amazing stories from Patchers across the country. Here are a few of their stories:
In a collective Give 5 effort, almost all Patchers in one CT region (that's 16 editors!) volunteered at the Foodshare warehouse in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Foodshare is a non-profit that serves a 42-town area in Connecticut, collects frozen turkeys, non-perishable food items, and cash every year around the holidays to help those in need. In addition to providing coverage to the cause on their respective Patch sites, these Patchers logged many hours on-site at the Foodshare warehouse, collecting turkeys and other canned goods from the many donators. Awesome work everyone!
In a collective Give 5 effort, almost all Patchers in one CT region (that's 16 editors!) volunteered at the Foodshare warehouse in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Foodshare is a non-profit that serves a 42-town area in Connecticut, collects frozen turkeys, non-perishable food items, and cash every year around the holidays to help those in need. In addition to providing coverage to the cause on their respective Patch sites, these Patchers logged many hours on-site at the Foodshare warehouse, collecting turkeys and other canned goods from the many donators. Awesome work everyone!
David Moran (Local Editor, Manchester) slinging Turkeys at the Foodshare Warehouse.
Regional Editor Megan Bard Morse gets enthusiastic with The Granbys Local Editor Ted Glanzer during their volunteer time.
Senior Advertising Manager Lee R. DeLay III donated Patch swag to the Poway, Calif. 3rd Annual Shop Hop: an auction benefiting Pomerado Elementary Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to fundraising for Pomerado Elementary School. His efforts were met with much gratitude from the event organizers, who were pleased to share that they exceeded their monetary goal for the auction. Lee also donated advertising space for the Shop Hop, which event organizers directly contributed to higher traffic for the event. Way to go!
A Group Shot of the "Shop Hop."
Though this next one is in fact a Thanksgiving story of Patchy awesomeness, it is not a Give 5 day charitable example (we're including it because we love the passing along of that much green goodness!). Greater Boston Regional Editor Mark Micheli and Boston ARE Roberto Scalese set up a Patch booth at a huge high school Thanksgiving-day football game. He was able to hand out tons of Patch swag, sign oodles of people up for the newsletter, and even gave away some 500 cups of hot cocoa (all in Patch cups, of course!). And get this - the game started at 10 a.m. and the hot cocoa was gone by 10:30 a.m.! That means Patch green was warming the hands of hundreds of spectators in the crowd. Maybe it's just us, but we think Patch was the real winner of this game!
Regional Editor Mark Micheli, his wife, and Boston ARE Robert Scalese at their Patch Booth!
There you have it, Patchers sharing the love in many different ways. Patch employees - think you have an awesome Give 5/Patch sharing story that was not included in this post? Comment below, we'd love to hear about it!
Patchers Give 5 - Let Them Inspire You!
The "Give 5" days are some of our favorites here at Patch; we love hearing about the experiences our teams have volunteering in their communities! We thought we'd share some details about the most recent round of Give 5 goodness...
Local editor Robert Edward Healy III (Baldwin-Whitehall Patch) spent his Give 5 day with the brave men and women of Baldwin Independent Fire Company No. 1. To read about his eye-opening adventure (and to see even more pics of Mr. Healy decked out in full firefighting garb!) check out the full story.
Robert Edward Healy in full firefighter gear
Los Gatos Local Editor Sheila Sanchez dutifully assisted residents of Santa Clara County (CA) by picking up trash and beautifying the streets and waters of the community. Coordinated by the Creek Connections Action Group, Sheila worked to clean up Campbell, Los Gatos Creek, Creekside Way upstream to PG&E station and 300' downstream. Way to go, Sheila!
A huge thanks to all of our Patchers who participated in the latest Give 5 day - you've done us proud! Whether issuing a public call to action for donations to our troops, or reporting on communities coming together to help build a home for a grateful family, you're making a difference in immeasurable ways. And our hope is that these stories can drive awareness to each organization, and might even inspire some new volunteers. Here's to a ripple effect of goodwill!
Local editor Robert Edward Healy III (Baldwin-Whitehall Patch) spent his Give 5 day with the brave men and women of Baldwin Independent Fire Company No. 1. To read about his eye-opening adventure (and to see even more pics of Mr. Healy decked out in full firefighting garb!) check out the full story.
Robert Edward Healy in full firefighter gear
Los Gatos Local Editor Sheila Sanchez dutifully assisted residents of Santa Clara County (CA) by picking up trash and beautifying the streets and waters of the community. Coordinated by the Creek Connections Action Group, Sheila worked to clean up Campbell, Los Gatos Creek, Creekside Way upstream to PG&E station and 300' downstream. Way to go, Sheila!
Cathy Deering from Shakopee Patch (MN) lent a hand at her local Habitat for Humanity. Alongside the Shakopee Chamber, City Council member Mike Beard, and other Shakopee residents, Cathy worked hard to help build a house for a family in need - and it looks like she did a great job!
Cathy Deering helps install a new floor
The Marrimack Valley editors show off their packages for the troopsCathy Deering helps install a new floor
The Merrimack Valley (MA) Patch Editors including Regional Editor Les Masterson, Andover Patch Editor Brendan Lewis, North Andover Patch Editor Bryan McGonigle, North Reading Patch Editor Ashley Troutman, and Chelmsford Patch Editor Krista Perry held an open call for care package items to send to troops overseas. The community response was overwhelming; these awesome Patchers spent an entire day gathering and assembling care packages to be shipped off to our troops. They were able to send five boxes jam-packed with necessities - shampoo, toothpaste, soap, and some fun stuff too! Check out more details on their Give 5 project here.
A huge thanks to all of our Patchers who participated in the latest Give 5 day - you've done us proud! Whether issuing a public call to action for donations to our troops, or reporting on communities coming together to help build a home for a grateful family, you're making a difference in immeasurable ways. And our hope is that these stories can drive awareness to each organization, and might even inspire some new volunteers. Here's to a ripple effect of goodwill!
Live Patchy or Die!
If we had a "Way To Patch It Up!" award, this week's trophy would definitely go to a few of our editors from New Hampshire. Local Editors Carol Robidoux (Nashua Patch), Ryan O'Connor (Bedford Patch), Carolyn Dube (Merrimack Patch), Robert Michaelson (Amherst Patch), and Regional Editor Marc Fortier recently took the time to share all things Patch at the Merrimack Business Expo.
Because the New Hampshire Patch sites are still babies (only about four months old!), these editors pounced on the opportunity to get the word out at a local expo that typically draws upwards of 7,000 attendees in the regionally central locale of Merrimack. In a booth decked out in our signature green color and chock full of Patch swag, the NH editors were able to hand out a few hundred "Patch is here" flyers and signed up oodles of new Patch readers to their respective newsletters.
"I think the best part of the day was sending people away from the table who seemed genuinely energized at the idea of what Patch can do in their communities," says Merrimack Local Editor Carolyn Dube. "...[T]hat and the people who came up to us and told us how much they love Patch!" she added.
See what we mean? These guys make Patch look good. No, not good...Patchtastic.
Because the New Hampshire Patch sites are still babies (only about four months old!), these editors pounced on the opportunity to get the word out at a local expo that typically draws upwards of 7,000 attendees in the regionally central locale of Merrimack. In a booth decked out in our signature green color and chock full of Patch swag, the NH editors were able to hand out a few hundred "Patch is here" flyers and signed up oodles of new Patch readers to their respective newsletters.
"I think the best part of the day was sending people away from the table who seemed genuinely energized at the idea of what Patch can do in their communities," says Merrimack Local Editor Carolyn Dube. "...[T]hat and the people who came up to us and told us how much they love Patch!" she added.
See what we mean? These guys make Patch look good. No, not good...Patchtastic.
From left: Carol Robidoux, Nashua Patch; Ryan O'Connor, Bedford Patch; and Carolyn Dube, Merrimack Patch
Amherst LE Robert Michaelson and Merrimack LE Carolyn Dube hand out some Patch swag
