CONWAY — Vaughan Community Services has announced that a ground-breaking ceremony for the new food pantry building will take place Thursday, Aug. 8, at 11:30 a.m.
The event will be held at 2503 White Mountain Highway on the south lawn of the Reverence for Life building adjacent to the North Conway Congregational Church and just behind the Bavarian Chocolate House.
Light refreshments will be served and there is plenty of parking available behind the church.
“We are joyfully planning this historic event to celebrate the beginning of construction on the food pantry to serve the people of the region,” stated Board Chairman Dot Seybold.
“The board has been planning this project and the renovation of the Learning Center for many, many years and to see it start to come together thanks to the generosity of First Church and the giving community is exciting and humbling.”
The community is invited to attend and encouraged to bring a bag of food or any non-perishable food item for the pantry," Seybold said. "The free-standing food pantry building is the first new facility for Vaughan Services since the Reverence for Life building was built in the 1970s."
Participating in the ground-breaking will be the Vaughan Board of Directors, contractors L.A. Drew and Co., the North Conway Congregational Church family, current and former employees and volunteers of the food pantry and the learning center as well as officials, dignitaries and invited guests.
Among the most important guests who are invited and urged to attend are the more than 100 individual donors and foundations who have given over $900,000 to help make the project a reality.
The final goal of $1.3 million is in reach. Full funding will allow the agency to not only construct the new food pantry but also renovate and enlarge the Vaughan Learning Center. All work is scheduled to be completed by mid-summer 2020.
Established in 1964, Vaughan Community Services Inc. is named after Dr. Clarence Vaughan, an 1897 graduate of Harvard University School of Dentistry who provided funding for the establishment of an organization that would provide for the poor and needy, and assist in the education of “worthy children.”
Vaughan Community Services is a private 501 (c)(3) that has, for over 50 years, provided those in need with basic human necessities including food, clothing and affordable early subsidized childhood education and childcare for working families. VCS also provides referral services for those seeking assistance in transportation, housing, legal access or special needs and offers support groups including Survivors of Suicide Loss.
The Vaughan Capital Campaign Committee has been working since 2018 to raise the funds necessary to complete the new food pantry and renovate and expand the Vaughan Learning Center. While the final goal is in sight, donations are very much still needed. If you would like to donate please send a check to Vaughan Community Services, P.O. Box 401, North Conway, NH 03860. For more information about the campaign or to make a multi-year pledge, call Dan Jones at (603) 986-6099 or Dot Seybold at (603) 356-7031.
