One Can Make(s) A Difference—

One Parade Float Will Make More Than A Memory

By Shannon Hicks

Between January and July this year, FAITH Food Pantry has provided food to an average of 175 clients each month. That number represents a 146 percent increase from the closing six months of 2007, when 71 clients visited the food pantry on a monthly basis.

With the current state of the economy on all levels and the impending return of winter — when more people will have to decide whether to pay their heating bills or purchase food for themselves and their family — the demand is expected to stay as strong if not increase.

Volunteers at the Sandy Hook-based FAITH Food Pantry are always worried that they will not have enough food to share, and one Newtown teenager has been moved to help. Just because she can.

Breanne Lubinsky is organizing a float for this year’s Newtown Labor Day Parade. It may not win the award for Best Float (it may win Most Crowd Pleasing, however, once people realize its goal), but it is going to leave more than a good memory in its wake once it travels the parade route on September 1.

Breanne’s idea is to have two pickup trucks follow the parade route, one boasting FAITH Food Pantry’s sign, with volunteers walking alongside the trucks and picking up nonperishable donations from people along the parade’s route. One of the trucks is orange, so people along the parade route should watch for the volunteers who will also be wearing orange T-shirts.

“We’d like to collect at least 1,000 cans,” said Breanne, who will begin her sophomore year at Newtown High School next week.

“We’d like to get at least that much, but even if we don’t, people will remember our motto: One Can Make(s) A Difference,” Linda Lubinsky, Breanne’s mother, pointed out. “If you look at it another way, it looks like it says I Can Make A Difference.”

Residents are being asked to put at least one nonperishable donation (see box with list of needed items) into a shopping bag. The bags will be picked up during the course of the parade.

“Believe it or not, they also need food bags, so this will help everyone,” Breanne said. “It’ll be easier for us to collect the donations, and it will give more things to FAITH.”

The list of requested items was put together during a meeting Breanne recently had with Lee Paulsen, a former chair of FAITH Food Pantry and a volunteer who has been involved since day one.

“She doesn’t want to just fill people up, she wants to nourish people,” Breanne said of the items on the request list. “That’s why the list is pretty specific.”

Mrs Paulsen, in return, said she is “in a state of shock” at the extraordinary effort by Breanne.

“I can’t believe it. She’s just wonderful, outstanding,” said Mrs Paulsen. “What a project. She came in to talk with us last week, she had all kinds of questions prepared, and just soaked up all the information we gave her.

“This is just what we need,” she added. “The donations are wonderful for FAITH, but our children should know there are other people who need help. She’s a blessing.”

Breanne is a member of Girl Scout Senior Troop 50764. Her leaders are Donna Mangiafico and Mary Giarrantano.

The time she puts in to organizing the Labor Day Parade food drive float will go toward the 30 hours of community service Breanne needs to accumulate for a Girl Scout Gold Award, but she is not doing this for the gold.

“The Girl Scout award helped me think about doing something good, but it isn’t the main reason for doing this food drive,” said Breanne, who recently read about FAITH celebrating its 30th anniversary. That recent Newtown Bee feature also talked about how many people in Newtown and Sandy Hook continue to count on the pantry and its volunteers for some of their food.

“I’m doing this because hunger is a year-round thing. Many people think about hunger and collecting food during the holidays,” said Breanne, “but I want to do something now.”