LAWRENCE – (Photos) Sheriff Kevin Coppinger joined the Lawrence Boys and Girls Club’s Executive Director Markus Fischer and Development Director Andrea Nahigian to celebrate this year’s unique fundraising effort.
For the last several years, the Essex County Pre-Release and Re Entry Center (ECPRC), also known as the “Farm,” has donated 200 pumpkins to the Lawrence Boys and Girls Club. This year the Club had their members decorate the pumpkins. They then brought them to the 99 Restaurant & Pub locations in Andover and in North Andover for their “Boys and Girls Club Month” fundraiser program. During the month of October, patrons can purchase a decorated pumpkin for $5.00. All the proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Club to support the programming that focuses on academic success, healthy lifestyles and community involvement for the approximately 500 kids that attend daily.
Besides this great cause, the Sheriff’s Department donated a record 5,830 pumpkins to 62 locations including schools, senior centers, child-care centers, town harvest fairs and YMCAs. It also donated approximately 42,000 pounds of produce this year to food pantries to provide meals to people of Essex County.
“This program is a great example of the positive relationship between the Sheriff’s Department and the community. It provides food for people in need, activities for children and fundraising opportunities, while providing vocational training to our inmate population. It is a win-win proposition,” said Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger.
The ECPRC operates the thriving 6-acre farm from May till November and provides 2,400 pounds of produce a week to multiple non-profit agencies. In the spring, Director of Food Services Kathy Lawrence works with Pleasant Valley Gardens farmer Heather Bonanno Baker to cultivate the soil, set up the irrigation system, and design the layout of the farm. Inmates at the facility plant the seeds, weed the garden, pick, wash, and box up the vegetables for pick up.
Fresh vegetables grown at the Farm are served to inmates at the Middleton, Lawrence and Salisbury correctional facilities. This helps offset the cost of food for the Department. Vegetables grown include tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, Italian peppers, zucchini, summer squash, butternut squash, eggplant, carrots, potatoes watermelon, cantaloupe, corn and of course pumpkins.
The Sheriff’s Department donates fresh vegetables to the following: Lazarus House, Haven From Hunger, My Neighbor’s Table, Sacred Heart Church, St. John’s Church, Greater Lawrence Food Bank, Methuen Department of Public Works, Bread and Roses, Food For the World, The Joyful Ladle, Neighbors in Need, St. Patrick’s Church, UTEC, Community Action Council, Hampstead Academy, My Brother’s Table, Salisbury Housing, Beverly Boot Straps, Pegasus House, Emmaus House, Merrimack Valley Food Bank, Merry Vista, Lawrence Fire Department, Lawrence Catholic School, Violence Intervention Prevention and Lawrence YWCA.
