First Baptist Churh, Newton, NJ
Rev. R Scott Boger
Hope House
Diane Silbernagel
Volunteering. I feel uncomfortable in my life if I am not involved in a volunteer effort. Since I am a teacher and I truly enjoy children all
my efforts have revolved around youngsters.
I am very blessed in my life and my heart just breaks when I know that children are in need. The fact that we have hungry children in this country and in our area is intolerable! Being a "foodie" and a conscientious shopper this program of using coupons to extend the value of money to fill our local food pantry was a natural "draw" for
me. I must admit that the experience has been quite humbling for me. Let's just say that my goal is to be the "most improved" shopper. When asked if I would want to quit my thought was "!*&% NO"! This is not a commitment to abandon.Bad things can happen to anyone and I think that those of us who are more fortunate have an obligation to help out. Giving money is always good. Giving time and heartfelt effort is
precious.
Shirley
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Hello Suzanne,
What you are doing for the Sparta Food Pantry at the The First
Presbyterian Church is Awesome! I help Janice at the pantry and I
know all your efforts are a blessing to the families that pantry serves.
Thank you.
Laura
I would like to start something like this in my own community. I just
have one question, why do you say people can donate expired
coupons? How does that work? The grocery stores never accept my
expired coupons.
I think your idea is wonderful. I hate food shopping but this is such a
great idea I'll try to grin and bear it. haha
Sincerely,
Gina
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Hi Suzanne,
I just finished watching you on the news and had to email you
immediately. I too have been pondering the idea of how I could get
people involved in coupon clipping to donate to people that are less
fortunate. I have also been researching how to start a non-profit
organization so the help that is provided can be increased to a much
larger scale. I believe that what you are doing is wonderful and would
love to hear if you had any suggestions on how I can get people in
my community (Bergen County, NJ) involved with Coupons for the
Community.
Vanessa
Great store on the news tonight! I am a member of St Lawrence
Church in Chester NJ. We have a very active group called the Good
Samaritans. How can we help you?
Kathleen
I wanted to commend you on your "speech" today. You're a natural
_ public speaking, something I haven't yet mastered. I surprised
myself at how moved I was during the entire experience. I'm
seriously thinking about going back next Sunday. They are much
more evolved than I thought they would be.
Carroll
___________
Thank you for your reply. Today, I went through just some of the
coupons that I have and sent you a small stack. I can send you plenty
more but want to be sure I am sending what you need and can use.
Please look through them and let me know if I am on the right track.
I did include my email in with the coupons.
I tried to keep them in catagories as best as possible. There are some
expireds but maybe only about a dozen of those and only within
about a week.
There should be more people like you in this world!
Sheryl
_______________________-
Hi..... i was impressed with the great idea and the commitment by
Suzanne Stigers.... are you the same person?
I live in Bridgewater, Nj, and have always been a coupon clipper, and,
too, saddened to know the Food Bank is so lacking in donations; in
this difficult economic climate, attention to sales, together with the
use of coupons, can create a new opportunity for those who care to
make a real impact. My local Temple has a dedicated Social Action
program; i think this would be a meaningful effort for members.
Please tell me more about how you organize the coupons and the
volunteers; i'd be happy to come to a meeting to see the work in
action!
Regards,
Susan
__________
hi this is a great idea i shop only with coupons i tell my two girls if i
dont have the coupons or if it not on sale you not getting the
product so i live in middletown newjersey we ned to set up a meeting
here soon my home could be use for this i love what you do for the
community i want too help i will do my part by sending you all the
coupons i could get my phone is (blank)
God bless
Mrs Adamic
I work in the Bronx as a teacher. I have a Community Team at my
school. We have helped City Harvest to raise 10,000 lbs. of food and
the Woman & children shelter for X-mas. Maybe we can start a
program at my school. Can you send some information?
Thank you, Lisa
__________________
Dear Ms. Stigers,
I live in Summit and really enjoyed the news cast about the coupons.
I would like to mail you my used
coupons since I live too far away to drop them off. Would that be
OK?
If so, where would you like
me to mail them to? You don't know of anyone around here that is
doing this also do you?
Thanks for your time,
Val
________________________
Parabéns, Suzanne!
Fiquei muito emocionada com a sua idéia! São essas atitudes que
fazem a diferença no mundo!
Beijos
Andrea
______________________________
What a wonderful idea!!! I saw you and your team on TV this
morning in NYC.
I would like to come and help out, and if I learn the ropes I could
bring this to local communities in NYC. People here make unhealthy
food choices as they cannot afford to feed their families. I've worked
at food pantries in many cities in which I've lived, but I had not
realized how coupon clipping can help. I'm sure a lot of New
Yorkers would donate their newspapers and coupons to help if
others did the work of utilizing the coupons.
Could you please let me know if I can join your team, maybe at one
of your weekly meetings. I like your vision about bringing it to others
all over the country.
I look forward to hearing from you and meeting you in person.
Esther (Brooklyn)
______________________
Suzanne: Saw your piece of channel 7 and was very inspired. I am a
resident of Nassau County and was wondering if you are aware of
any groups such as yours in my area. If not, I will be forwarding you
coupons on a weekly basis. Thank you. Sandi
--------
HI Suzanne,
I am a Daisy Troop Leader in Lebanon Tswp. One of our mothers
saw the news and thought this would be a fun way for our Daisy
Troop of girls 5-6 to help out in a near by town. I was wondering
what type of coupons you where collecting and where we dropped
them off or sent them to and anything else we need to know or do.
We can wait to help out
Thank You
Rondi
Daisy Troop
01.31.10
I just saw your story on our NBC local affiliate. What you're doing is
so inspirational! Is there a similar group in my area (Bethesda, MD
near the DC line)? And please add me to your email newsletter for
updates. Many thanks and carry on! Janice
02.12.10
Hi Was wondering if you could pass this along to the Beach 6 email
group. I had a canister _ our SuperBowl party to accept donations
for a group I'm very involved with: Coupons For The Community.
At the end of the evening $34.00 had been tossed in the container,
our organization added $16 to bring it up to $50. With this money I
then shopped for a local food pantry with VERY limited funds &
empty shelves by matching up our coupons to the sales in the
grocery stores. I wanted to share with those who donated even just a
dollar, what I will be bringing to a very empty & very grateful pantry
thanks in part to your generousity. Keep in mind, this is with just $50
~ and I purchased approx $225 worth of goods for $49!
16 rolls of Marcal Toilet Paper
16 pkgs of Minute Rice Bowls
5 pkgs of Betty Crocker mashed potatos
8 pkgs of Fisher Trail Mix
17 pkgs of Carolina Rice Pilaf
1 box of Chex Cereal
24 boxes of Lipton Tea
8 bottles of Tabasco
48 jars of Beech Nut Stage 2 Baby Food
5 bottles of fruit 2 O water
4 bottles of Frank's Hot Sauce
3 containers of Kosher Salt
2 bags of No Yolks
4 boxes of Kotex Panty Liners
8 bars of J&J baby soap
3 boxes of Quaker Instant Oatmeal
1 bottle of Apple & Eve Apple Juice
1 Chef Boyardee Microwave Bowl
2 Old El Paso Side Dishes
2 pkgs of Jell-O
1 can organic kidney beans
So, thank you to those who threw in their spare ones & coins ~ a
little goes a long way ~ if you donate money to us next to you see me
with canister or one on a local business' counter, know that we will
stretch that dollar or quarter a long way! Thanks again! Carroll
Dear Suzanne,
I am writing to express my gratitude to you and your
volunteers for your inspirational Coupons for the Community
program. Your kindness and generosity has clearly made an impact
on our local food pantry and the entire community.
When I first heard about your program at my church I was
immediately interested in the program and wanted instantly to help.
As a high school health teacher I thought what a better way to help
than to introduce the coupon concept to my 8th grade health class.
After developing a lesson around the Coupons for the Community
program I realized what a beneficial and educational lesson this
would be.
My class embraced the idea and immediately began collecting
coupons. Upon seeing their eagerness and interest to help, the
lesson has developed into an ongoing activity. We now collect, cut,
and sort coupons on a weekly basis. At the end of the week we shop
the local circulars to find the best prices. The students determine the
total costs and the total savings. We have even started a coin
collection jar which we use to actually shop with!
I am proud to incorporate a real world lesson with my
students that does not only teach them organizational and money
saving skills, but they are also developing a social awareness for their
community. Coupons for the Community has touched all of our
lives and will continue to help the hungry, one coupon at a time!
Vicki Vara
Pope John XXIII Regional High School
Sparta, NJ
02.26.2010
Hi Suzanne, We were very happy to receive the delivery of food and
other items that was purchased through Coupons for the
Community. You have an amazing group of volunteers and are
providing a service that is really needed. The variety of items was
great and our clients really appreciated receiving them.
Thank you for including us in the group of food pantries who are
receiving the benefit of all your hard work.
Linda,
Coordinator
Rockaway Food Closet, Inc.
Thank you Suzanne for taking your time to respond to my e-mail. I am very humbled with your incredible vision and commitment. I pray that God will continue to empower you and continue to enlarge your coast. You are a blessing to me. I hope we keep in contact with each other periodically and please do not hesitate to update me with great ideas you think might be of benefit to my pantry. My passion is to ensure that no woman or child goes without food in my community. I am so grateful and thanks so much for your help. God bless. Kate
--------------------
03.24.10
It is so awesome to be on both ends..shopping and distributing. Had a
Dad yesterday who came for the first time. All dressed up and out job hunting but
really needed food and supplies for his kids. He was so grateful for the soap and laundry detergentt. It was sad but rewarding at the same time.
You should all be so proud of what you are doing. Giving food is good because it stops hungry but when you also give soap, toothpaste , deodarent etc you are giving someone back their self esteem. Being
well groomed could be the difference between a kid being made fun of
in school or a parent getting a job.
__________________________________
Dear Suzanne
Yesterday during our 1 hour afternoon and 1 hour evening distributions we gave food to 84 families. Because of what you do we were able to double the amount of food given to each family!
Of course, now our shelves are fairly empty with the exception of tuna and those tubes of Carolina rice.
You make my heart smile!
Alice
---------------------------------------------------------
April 27th 2010
A little something to make you smile- at the end of our very long line yesterday was a little boy with his Mom-the cakes and pastries from Panera were long gone but the little boy still asked do you have any cake?? It broke my heart until I realized I could go in the cabinet and give him cake mix and frosting...a direct result of your coupon shopping! You should have seen his smile.
Have a great night-Danielle
Click for a note from DASI
Good Afternoon
Our residents at Valley View Care Center have been participating in a service-oriented program called Helping Hands. In the past, our residents have constructed holiday ornaments to raise money for Project Self-Sufficiencys Holiday Toy Shop. As part of this program, they have chosen to dedicate their Helping Hands time to clip coupons for the community. "Coupons for the Community" is a program designed to bring volunteers of all ages and backgrounds that are committed to support our fellow Americans, one community at a time so that we can each live with dignity and hope. Through a simple donation of unwanted store and manufacturer coupons, the volunteers at Coupons for the Community can help stretch the limited dollars available from private and government funding, which means together, we can provide local food pantries with more food and non-edible essentials like toiletries and hygiene products for members of our communities who need it most. Many of these items are not covered by food stamps: soap, laundry detergent and toilet paper etc, yet they are all necessities in life.
The employees and family members of residents at Valley View Care Center are donating their coupons from home for this project. The residents, family members and staff, together are doing the clipping. Please come and join us and bring a friend if youd like - and spend some of your time with our Helping Hands group for to support Coupons for the Community to continue their amazing efforts at helping families in need.
Our program dates for the next several weeks are: Wednesday April 28th, Friday May 7th, Saturday May 22nd, and May 26th. All programs begin at 2:00 in the activities room.
Thank you,
Noelle Swan Little
Executive Director
Valley View Care Center
July 03rd 2010.
I just want to tell you how much I love & admire all your wonderful Coupon ladies. They do a magnificent job and nothing is too much work for them. I am overwhelmed by the time they devote to our pantry and the joy with which they do everything! Their joy and enthusiasm is catching! I pray the Lord will bless them as they bless others!
Fondly
Margaret
Deborah Berry-Toon
Project Self-Suficiency
Partnership for social services
