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30 Days of Giving Food Drive Campaign November 1st to November 30th
Nothing brings friends, family, and neighbors together quite like the holidays or a good meal. This holiday season, the Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce (GNLCC) wants to ensure that all families within the community can enjoy great meals like these. The community is very fortunate to have organizations that often serve meals to over 50,000 people each month, and the pandemic has presented the opportunity to serve an even greater number of people within the community.
In planning the holiday events, the Chamber wanted to not only bring fun and excitement with lights and vendor markets but to also give back to the community and help contribute to those who may need a little extra help this holiday season. When brainstorming ways to do so, GNLCC Board Member, Vickie Beller, of Dimmich & DInkelacker, saw a reverse advent calendar idea on social media and thought it would be a great way to collect items throughout November, culminating in a large-scale food drive that would be collected at annual tree lighting ceremonies in the region. The “30 days of Giving” Food Drive was born!
Throughout the month of November, participants are invited to join the Chamber in collecting food for the local food banks. The 30 Days of Giving event gives suggestions for a different nonperishable item to collect each day of the month! The list of suggested items can be found in our Facebook event page here along with a daily update of the item of the day.
“The Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber Board is actively engaged in the community and always looking for ways to give back,” said Kylie Adams, Manager of Affiliated Chambers for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. “Not only is the ‘30 Days of Giving’ drive a creative way to do so, people can participate as little or as much as they’re able. We’re hoping that we will have an overflow of food from both Tree Lightings to donate to our food banks!”
Ms. Beller was so inspired by the impact this food drive could have on the community, that she took the 30 Days of Giving idea a step further. She explained, “I posted on the local township Facebook page about sponsoring some local families and within minutes of being approved dozens of people were wanting to help donate more specific items like eggs, milk or even a turkey for these families. It is very inspiring to see how much a simple post can make an impact so quickly. Once you start giving you just keep wanting to do more and more.” The hope is for this contagious giving spirit to spread far and wide throughout Greater Northern Lehigh and even into the rest of the Lehigh Valley.
Those who participate in this food drive have the option of donating their collection directly or can bring their donation to our Slatington Borough and Lehigh Township Tree Lightings on December 4th and December 6th respectively, to be donated to local food pantries. The Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber will be delivering the donations to local food banks and pantries throughout the community, such as Salem UMC in Danielsville and the Northern Lehigh Food Bank, in Emerald.
In speaking with Pastor Dave from Salem UMC he explained that “The food pantry is a relatively new ministry for us, that we started just before the pandemic hit.” Pastor Dave was very grateful and excited to be a recipient of some of the food donations from the 30 Days of Giving and the Lehigh Tree Lighting Ceremony. “It seems like perfect timing that this ministry was started, and we are delighted to be able to give the donations to an organization within the township” said Hayden Rinde, an associate of GNLCC who spoke with Pastor Dave. The pantry is named “My Little Pantry” and is available to anyone throughout the community, 24 hours a day. The pantry serves around 20-25 people a week. Salem UMC is located at 1067 Blue Mountain Drive Danielsville, PA.
For more information on the “30 Days of Giving” and for other upcoming Greater Northern Lehigh events, please visit their Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/NorthernLehighChamber.
When: November 1-30, drop off locations at the Slatington or Lehigh Township Tree Lightings
- Slatington Borough Tree Lighting: December 4, 2020 (5-8 PM)
- Lehigh Township Tree Lighting: December 6, 2020 (5:30 – 7:30 PM)
Pricing Information: FREE
About the Chamber: The mission of The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce is to improve the economy and quality of life in the Lehigh Valley Metropolitan Area. We accomplish this through business-to-business networking events and marketing products, affinity programs and exclusive, money saving member benefits, training programs, government affairs initiatives and public policy advocacy, and community development enterprises. With nearly 5,000 members who employ more than 200,000, the Chamber is the largest in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and in the top ten nationwide.
Information provided to TVL by:
Kylie Adams
Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce
Manager of Affiliated Chambers (WACC, GNLCC)
https://www.lehighvalleychamber.org/
