Stockbridge Community Outreach
Outreach in Action
Outreach Holiday Program: The need keeps growing, for enrolled families and for donors by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall The holidays are fast approaching and with them come thoughts—and a bit of panic—of the holiday programs at Outreach. Demand for the programs, which involve special distributions of food and gifts donated by the community, is […]
Outreach in Action
Outreach ‘Featured Recipes’ evolve from 2010 cookbook by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall Clearing out a pile of old cookbooks the other day, we were rewarded with an unexpected gift. Tucked in the corner: a humble, recipe-card-sized Outreach cookbook from 2010. It delighted us to look through and remember past and present board members, Outreach […]
Outreach in Action
Don’t let ‘thinking traps’ sabotage your mental health by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall July’s Social Hour at Outreach started with a discussion of “Thinking Traps,” and how we sometimes sabotage our mental health by falling into them. Thinking traps? They’re common—they refer to negative actions like focusing more on our perceived failures rather than […]
Outreach in Action
Stuck in a web of debt? Outreach has suggestions that can help. by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall Spider webs abound in the summer, with multiple intricate shapes and designs. But no matter how they look, webs share a common purpose: trapping prey. Many of our Outreach clients find themselves trapped in a web of […]
Outreach in Action
At Outreach, Christmas begins long before cold weather sets in by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.” —Scrooge, in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” Sure, it may be a hot […]
Outreach in Action: Mary Myer, dedicated volunteer and board member, retires after 25 years with Outreach
by Jackie Scheller In the field of volunteerism, there are some genuinely amazing, pioneering leaders whose stories are sure to motivate you. Mary Myer of Stockbridge is one of those people. Like so many other volunteer leaders, Myer learned from the late Margaret Wild, a founder and champion of Stockbridge Community Outreach, along with several […]
Outreach in Action
“I need help.” These words hold so many meanings. by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall “I need help.” Difficult words to say—and hear—but common words heard in the Stockbridge Community Outreach office. Sometimes the words indicate someone needs a financial hand with utility bills or filling their food needs, but other times, these words mean […]
Outreach in Action
Regardless of which came first—chickens or eggs—Outreach is grateful to local FFA chapter by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall The timeless conundrum of which came first – the chicken or the egg – acquired a literal meaning at Stockbridge Community Outreach as we tried to recall our first contact with Stockbridge Jr/Sr High School’s Future […]
Outreach in Action: A weekly Outreach playgroup has sprouted for parents and children
by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall A seed was planted last year when the new diaper bank in Chelsea began to deliver diapers to Outreach for Stockbridge clients with babies and young children. And in February 2024, a seedling sprouted—Outreach started a weekly playgroup for parents and children! Outreach was fortunate to have former kindergarten […]
Outreach in Action: Serendipity and the goodness of community make special Outreach moments
by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall Past installments of this column have cast a spotlight on some of the countless organizations and individuals who help make Outreach successful. But present in everything we do are also less tangible elements: faith, goodness, and serendipity. At Outreach, we are awed every week at how things we need […]