Click below to review the Friends of Mascoma Foundation’s 2020 Annual Report.
Mascoma Matters: January Meeting
Save the date and time for our January Mascoma Matters meeting! We had a positive meeting in December and continued to work through some ideas of what we really want to accomplish as a coalition. We look forward to picking up the discussion in January.
If you want to catch up on our last few meetings head over to the Padlet here: https://padlet.com/sue_cagle/ikx1xq8i2xww69l2
When: Thursday January 13, 2022 at 6:00pm
Zoom link: https://unh.zoom.us/j/95123406052
Check out some wonderful online training opportunities that kick off in 2022 below. Learn more and register here: Building Community Resilience in New Hampshire | Extension (unh.edu).
Help FOM Unlock our #Giving Tuesday Matches!
Our first ever Text-to-Give Campaign is off to a great start! Textgiving kicked off on Thanksgiving Day and we over halfway to our goal! We have not one, but two matches. We unlocked one from an Enfield resident-let’s open the second from our friends at Tasco Security Inc for $500! ******** As of 11:59 PM , NOV. 29 we have unlocked both matches! Thank you, wonderful donors! Please keep the generosity rolling to support our great programs! We cant do it without YOU!
There is still time to give! Simply text the phrase “Giving Tuesday” to (541) 802-5802 anytime this week and you will be prompted to give a gift of your choice to the Friends of Mascoma Foundation. If we raise $1,500 it will be matched dollar for dollar by two generous local donors!
FOM is also thanking everyone who participates with video messages from our staff and Board of Directors! Give now to get a special message.
Your support helps the Friends of Mascoma foster educational advancements and nutritional well-being for students and families within the Mascoma Valley Regional School District. We do this in three main ways:
Our Scholarship program is for graduating seniors. Past scholarship recipients are eligible to renew scholarships up to three times. The average scholarship award is $1,000. In 2020 we gave away $17,000 in scholarships.
Our Mini-grant program that offers district staff and teachers modest awards to offer additional educational programs and resources that make a positive difference in the learning experience of their students. past mini-grants include, field trips, books, musical instruments, farm-to-school projects and artist in residence projects.
Our Friends Feeding Friends program that is designed to decrease food insecurity , increase food access and reduce food waste to all residents of the Mascoma Valley Regional School District. FFF offers two public food pantries every week, supports pantries, snack and backpack programs in all four district schools, and plans and executes four school and community food box distributions for holidays and school breaks throughout the year.
We hope you will consider supporting FOM this #GivingTuesday NOVEMBER 30 !
FOM: Supporting Positive Food Experiences this Holiday Season
The Friends of Mascoma Foundation just wrapped our Thanksgiving food distribution. Read on to learn about our partnerships and distribution efforts for Thanksgiving.
While some of you may still be eating pie for breakfast, we are already thinking ahead to December food boxes. FOM is pleased to announce that on Wednesday, December 22nd we will be offering 100 holiday food boxes on a first come first served basis at our Canaan location, 9 on the Common Way, from 3:00pm-5:30pm. These boxes will include items for a holiday feast, pantry staples for the week in between Christmas and New Years, and a ham from our friends at Green Mountain Smoke House.
Thanksgiving Round-up: We helped the MVRHS National Honor Society distribute 68 turkeys and food boxes in the days leading up to Thanksgiving! These boxes come with fresh items and holiday staples for a Thanksgiving meal as well as breakfast items like cereal and quick dinners like macaroni and cheese for folks to enjoy during the long weekend.
MVRSD high school students hard at work assembling boxes
We also worked with our friends at the Mascoma Valley Ecumencial Council to distribute 72 turkeys and 128 boxes of food for their annual Ingathering. These boxes include fresh items like squash, onions and potatoes as well pantry staples like soups, oatmeal or cereal, and pasta with tomato sauce. We also include a few personal care items like toothpaste and tooth brushes with each box.
Regular FOM Volunteer and Canaan Volunteer Fireman, Alan Ricard assisting with the Mascoma Valley Ecumenical 2021 Ingathering
Mascoma Valley Ecumenical Council Crew at the 2021 Ingathering
Do your Shopping and Support FOM this December!
You can support the Friends of Mascoma Foundation this December by shopping at two local stores!
For the ENTIRE month of December 2021, the Friends of Mascoma Foundation, has been selected to receive a $1 donation for every $12.00 Bloomin' 4 Good Bouquet with the red circle sticker sold at the Hannaford store located at 8 Market Street, West Lebanon NH.
FOM is pleased to announce we have been selected as one of the December 2021 Pennies for Change recipients at the Co-op Food Stores! Mark your calendars now! Don't for get to shop often and round up for Friends of Mascoma Foundation!
FOM is Distributing Coats and Warm Clothing
While we will not be hosting our traditional warm clothing/coat drive and distribution event we will still be distributing coats and warm clothing. FOM will make these items available to the public during our Canaan public food pantry hours during the month of November on Wednesdays from 4:000pm-6:00pm. All are welcome to stop by 9 On The Common Way, right behind Canaan Hardware Store.
Thank you to past FOM scholarship recipient, Liam Hemmerling, for helping out during our public pantry and coat giveaway!
FOM to Launch SMS Giving for #GivingTuesday
The Friends of Mascoma Foundation is trying something new this #GivingTuesday! Drum roll please….an SMS Giving Campaign! What is that you ask? Allow us to explain. Join FOM from Thursday November 25th thru Tuesday November 30th for TextGiving 2021! Simply text the phrase “Giving Tuesday” to (541) 802-5802 anytime during those days and you will be prompted to give a gift of your choice to the Friends of Mascoma Foundation.
FOM Partners with the Mascoma Valley Ecumenical Council for Thanksgiving Boxes
2021 Annual Thanksgiving Ingathering
The Friends of Mascoma Foundation will once again partner with the Mascoma Valley Ecumenical Council as a resource provider for their 2021 Thanksgiving Ingathering. Each year area churches, in combination with local youth organizations, hold an Annual Thanksgiving Ingathering. The Council puts together food boxes for members of the community who need some help with their Thanksgiving celebration. FOM is pleased to work with the Ecumenical Council on this event. Click here for more details and to fill out the sign up form.
Please fill out the form and return it by Friday, November 12th to:
Community Lutheran Church
Attn: Carol Brudnicki
PO Box 450
Enfield, NH 03748
Don't Forget to Join us This Thursday for MBCR
The Friends of Mascoma Foundation has been working with the UNH Extension on a project called Mascoma Builds Community Resilience since May of this year. Now is a great time to get involved! We have held monthly Zoom meetings since May and our next meeting will be on Thursday, September 30th.
Ways to get involved today—>
Review what we have worked on so far: Mascoma Builds Community Resilience (padlet.com) This site has the topics we’ve covered so far in our meetings, important community data, ways participants can brainstorm, and much more! We plan to brainstorm renaming the project at our September meeting.
Join us for our September meeting on Thursday , September 30th from 3pm to 4:30pm. Zoom link here: https://unh.zoom.us/j/97510061098
Help us decide the schedule for our Fall meetings (October, November and December)! We would like more of you to be able to join us so we are considering moving the time of the meeting. Please fill out this form and let us know what days/times work best for you: https://forms.gle/wKz6ehVwbmfqfT6n8
Help us spread the word! Share information about this project with your friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc… The more folks that know about this project and participate the better the results will be!
FOM Participates in NH Feeding NH via the NH Food Bank
The Friends of Mascoma Foundation has had another successful year participating in the NH Feeding NH program via our partnership with the NH Food Bank. In 2020, The NH Food Bank in partnership with the NH Food Alliance, NH Farm Bureau and NOFA-NH proudly launched “NH Feeding NH” a statewide initiative designed to support the purchase of NH grown food to feed our food insecure neighbors with nutritious locally grown produce, fruit, dairy protein and more throughout NH communities.
In spring 2020, FOM was awarded an initial grant of $1,000 via this program to spend specifically at local farms and farm stands. In August 2020 FOM was awarded an additional $500 because the NH Food Bank was pleased with how we embraced the program supporting a number of local farms and farm stands. In 2021, FOM was selected to participate in the program again and was awarded $1,500 in May.
To date, Friends of Mascoma Foundation has supported the following farms and farm stands using funds from the NH Feeding NH Program:
Open Woods of Grafton
Spring Ledge Farm of New London
Edgewater Farm of Plainfield
Sunset Harvest Farm of Enfield
Primitive Pickings of Lebanon
Dirk Andrew/Westley Burton Agricultural Products of Canaan
Pleasant Valley Produce at Campbell Farm of Enfield
We encourage all our friends and supporters to shop locally whenever possible! We thank the NH Food Bank for including FOM in this wonderful program. For more information on this initiative please visit the NH Food Bank’s site here: https://nhfoodbank.org/programs/nh-feeding-nh/
FOM To Collect and Distribute Warm Clothing
While we will not be hosting our traditional warm clothing/coat drive and distribution event we will still be collecting coats and warm clothing that are in good condition and distributing them to folks in need. During September and the first half of October FOM will be collecting coats, snow pants, and other warm clothing. We would like to focus on children and families.
We do not have the capacity to sort through as many items as we would in a normal year so please take that extra time to sort out items that are in poor condition.
Items can be dropped off in Enfield at Huse Memorial Park on Tuesdays from 3:30pm-6pm and in Canaan on Wednesdays from 11:00am-6pm on Wednesdays or by appointment. To schedule a drop appointment simply contact, Eula at ELKozma@friendsofmascoma.org.
After collecting and sorting, FOM will make these items available to the public during our Canaan public food pantry hours during the second half of October. Save the dates: October 21st and 28th from 4:000pm-6:00pm.
Update on Mascoma Builds Community Resilience
The Friends of Mascoma Foundation has been working with the UNH Extension on a project called Mascoma Builds Community Resilience since May of this year. UNH Extension received a grant to facilitate this project in three rural NH communities and Mascoma was selected as one of the three.
This is different than the Enfield Master Planning process that a group is undertaking in Enfield, but we will be working collaboratively so that both groups can benefit from each other’s findings.
We have held monthly Zoom meetings since May and our next meeting will be on Thursday, September 30th. It is not too late to get involved. I would be happy to bring you up to speed if you are interested in joining us at any point in time.
We are using ‘resilience’ as a broad term and realize it is a bit ambiguous. The context of the project is rural communities emerging from the COVID-19 Pandemic and working together within their community to gather information, make organizational connections, apply lessons learned and re-emerge as a stronger community.
Ways to get involved today—>
We are trying to get a better understanding of what ‘community’ means to folks generally and specifically what they like (or do not like) about the Mascoma Valley Region. If you have not done so already please answer the three questions on the form link here: https://forms.office.com/r/2dqgiLvEhA
Review what we have worked on so far: Mascoma Builds Community Resilience (padlet.com) This site has the topics we’ve covered so far in our meetings, important community data, ways participants can brainstorm, and much more! We hope to brainstorm renaming the project at our September meeting.
Help us spread the word! Share information about this project with your friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc… The more folks that know about this project and participate the better the results will be!
Join us for our September meeting on Thursday , September 30th from 3pm to 4:30pm. Zoom link here: https://unh.zoom.us/j/97510061098
FOM to Distribute Coats and Warm Clothing in October
While we will not be hosting our traditional warm clothing/coat drive and distribution event we will still be collecting coats and warm clothing that are in good condition during the month of September. We will then distribute these items at our public food pantries on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the second part of October. Stay tuned for details on distribution dates. If you have coats and warm clothing that are in good condition please reach out to Eula at elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org to coordinate drop off. Thank you!
It's Official!
Our long time lead volunteer, Lana Evans, has “officially” joined the FOM staff as our Part time Pantry and Volunteer Coordinator. As you all know, Lana has always been an important part of the FOM team. She is extremely dedicated to our work and mission. During the past year it became clear that the organization needed to dedicate more staff time to running Friends Feeding Friends and was ready to hire a 2nd staff person. We are pleased to have Lana as an official member of our team. Join us in welcoming Lana into her new role!
Update on Mascoma Builds Community Resilience Project--Get Involved Now!
As you may or may not know we have been working with the UNH Extension on a project called Mascoma Builds Community Resilience. We are using ‘resilience’ as a broad term and realize it is a bit ambiguous. The context of the project is rural communities emerging from the COVID-19 Pandemic and working together within their community to gather information, make organizational connections, apply lessons learned and re-emerge as a stronger community. We have had three virtual meetings so far, but you can get involved at any time. Below is some more information and a few ways to get involved now!
We are trying to reestablish community post-COVID-19 and the voices of the Mascoma community together. Some of what we are working on:
• Building a regional team of partners and community members interested in building resiliency in the Mascoma region
• Coming together as a community to learn about each other, our assets, and where to go from here
• Beginning to identify ways to build resiliency in community and how to take action as part of a regional team
Ways to get involved today—>
LAST CALL FOR THE SNA: As part of the Mascoma Builds Community Resilience project, we are conducting a Social Network Analysis (SNA) to better understand what organizations are currently collaborating with each other in the region and at what level. Please fill out our quick survey to help us see who you are already connected to in the Mascoma region: https://unh.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ekXzAAyvw0YgGaO This survey will close on Friday August 6th.
We are trying to get a better understanding of what ‘community’ means to folks generally and specifically what they like (or do not like) about the Mascoma Valley Region. Please answer the three questions on the form here: https://forms.office.com/r/2dqgiLvEhA
Help us spread the word! Share information about this project with your friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc… The more folks that know about this project and participate the better the results will be!
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to Eula at elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org.
Fight Hunger Bag Initiative for FOM at the W. Lebanon Hannaford in July!
As a reminder, for the month of July 2021, the Friends of Mascoma Foundation will receive a $1 donation from each purchase of the $2.50 reusable Fight Hunger Bag at the Hannaford store located at 8 Market Street, West Lebanon NH. Help us meet our goal of raising $150.00 through this initiative!
Congratulations Class of 2021!
Cheers to our 2021 Scholarship Recipients!
Torrie Howlett Enfield $1,000.00 Friends of Mascoma Scholarship
Connor Thompson Enfield $1,000.00 Friends of Mascoma Scholarship
Gabriel Rock Enfield $1,000.00 Friends of Mascoma Scholarship
Sophia Guziewicz Enfield $1,000.00 Friends of Mascoma Scholarship
Dirk Andrew Canaan $1,000.00 Friends of Mascoma Scholarship
Caleb Hobbs Canaan $1,000.00 Friends of Mascoma Scholarship
Kylie Ells Orange $1,000.00 Friends of Mascoma Scholarship
Noah Lecuyer Enfield $1,000.00 Friends of Mascoma Scholarship
Gaige Hollis Enfield $1,000.00 Friends of Mascoma Scholarship
Faith Furman Enfield $1,000.00 Friends of Mascoma Scholarship
Paige Jette Enfield $1,000.00 Friends of Mascoma Scholarship
Rachel Dargie Canaan $1,000.00 Friends of Mascoma Scholarship
Caleb Drexler Enfield $1,000.00 Friends of Mascoma Scholarship
Lucille Ibey Enfield $1,000.00 Malformity Labs STEM Scholarship
Emily Moulton Canaan $1,000.00 Malformity Labs Women/STEM Scholarship
Natalie Poitras Grafton $1,000.00 Carolyn A. Cusick Trust Teaching Scholarship
Nicholas Gaskin Enfield $1,500.00 Roberta Hines and Jerry Liebrand Nursing Scholarship in Memory of Velma Hines
Madison Ashley Grafton $1,500.00 Roberta Hines and Jerry Liebrand Healthcare Scholarship in Memory of Sadie Seamans
Cameron Stebbins Enfield $1,500.00 Roberta Hines and Jerry Liebrand Nursing Scholarship in Memory of Velma Hines
FOM has Another Successful Year with NH Gives
Another year of NH Gives in the books! Thank you to all of our friends and donors, both near and far, for making NH Gives 2021 a success. As promised we are sharing a summary of what we accomplished together during NH Gives as a Friends of Mascoma Team thanks to NH Center for Nonprofits and their generous donors and sponsors. Site-Wide Matches were made possible by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation (NHCF) and its donors. The Upper Valley Matches were made possible by the Bio X Cell Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation and NHCF.
These generous gifts will replenish our scholarship fund, fund teacher and staff mini-grants for the Mascoma Valley Regional School District, combat food insecurity in the Mascoma Valley, and keep Friends of Mascoma churning onward.
Notable Accomplishments:
-We reached our initial goal early on & moved on to our stretch goal and super stretch goal of $50,000. Your gifts blew right past our goal - we are in awe of your generosity!
-We achieved our goal of finishing in the top 3 (out of 584)! Phew - that went down to the wire!
- We landed 6.6% of the $300k site-wide matches spread across 10 Match Minutes and 24 hours.
We are grateful beyond measure for all of the support today and always!
*totals as of 5 pm on June 9th , and donations continued to roll in!
Warm Weather Update for Pantry Schedule
As you may know, the Friends of Mascoma Foundation has switched over to a curbside/outdoors food distribution model. We will not have shoppers enter our Canaan building and we are no longer operating out of the Enfield Town Offices.
Please be advised: There will be NO PUBLIC PANTRIES on June 1st or 2nd. We will reopen in Enfield and Canaan for June 8th and 9th respectively.
More information on set up and schedule:
· Walk up only. No pre-registration is required.
· All shoppers and volunteers must have a mask. If you do not have one, one will be provided to you.
· All shoppers are to practice appropriate social distance guidelines.
· Enfield Pantry: We will reopen June 8th in Enfield at Huse Memorial Park. We will also be utilizing our van, Foodie, for distribution. The Enfield schedule is Tuesdays from 4pm-6pm.
Canaan Pantry: The Canaan schedule is Wednesdays from 4pm-6pm at the FOM headquarters behind Canaan Hardware.
· Who are these pantries for?: Our pantries are open to anyone in need of a 3-day supply of groceries that lives in one of the 5 Mascoma Valley Towns: Canaan, Dorchester, Grafton, Enfield and Orange.
· How often can someone visit the curbside pantries: Once a week at either location. If you cannot make it to either location during those hours and don’t have a family member or friend who can pick up for you, please call 603.632.4542 or email elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org our Executive Director Eula Lee Kozma.
· If you are not able to physically get to the either location due to health reasons or other serious matters please call 603.632.4542 or email elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org our Executive Director Eula Lee Kozma. Special arrangements will be made on a case by case basis.
· What information is required: If you are a new pantry shopper, for statistical tracking purposes, we ask many questions. They are simple questions that do not require any paperwork on your part. Please come prepared to verbally let us know the name of your head of household, date of birth, relationship to head of household, and town and state of residence for each member of the household, as well as the number of and ages of all people in the household. If you are an existing pantry shopper we may confirm a few details, but you will not have to answer all questions again.
NH Gives 2021 Starts in T-minus 8 Days!
The Friends of Mascoma is gearing up for NH Gives 2021! During NH Gives this year we will primarily raise money for our scholarship program. We are a growing organization. If we hit our goal, we keep on raising money to support our general operations!
As of June 2020 we have awarded $70,000 in scholarships and we will be awarding the next round of scholarships the following to the Class of 2021 in just a few weeks! The past year has been extremely difficult for people due to COVID-19, resulting in financial impacts to families in our district. Scholarships are increasingly important this year and next so students can pursue educational opportunities following graduation.
This year has been our busiest year yet for FOM and we are proud to be here to support the Mascoma community. We pride ourselves on being nimble and responding to the evolving needs of the community. We are grateful for all the members of the Mascoma community, both near and far, who have support us during these unusual times. Thank you for your loyal support! We hope we can count on you again for NH Gives! Visit our page to learn more or sign up as a fundraiser for our team. Scroll down for all the details on this year’s exciting matches!
Info on 2021 matches:
Matching donation opportunities were recently announced and we are excited to maximize our fundraising capabilities! This year the matches are available during different time slots, which are outlined below. We are looking for ten donors to sign up to donate during each time slot to really boost our efforts. Willing to sign up to help us out? Email our Executive Director, Eula Kozma, at elkozma@friendsofmascoma.org with your time slot! There are no guarantees that donations will be matched, the funds go quickly, however an organized effort helps us increase the likelihood of receiving matching donations.
A $300,000 site-wide match pool, made possible by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and its donors will be used throughout the 24-hour event to encourage donors to give.
Organizations from the Upper Valley region will be eligible for two additional matches during specific times. A $10,000 Upper Valley match - made possible by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and its Bio X Cell Fund - will be available at 5PM on June 8 and a $9,000 Upper Valley match - made possible by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and several of its donors - will be available at 3PM on June 9.
Last year the matches went fast! This year they are planning to schedule “Match Minutes.” Each Match Minute will be allotted a portion of the total match (for example, $50,000). During that minute, each online donation made will be matched up to a pre-determined amount -IT’S $250 until the allotted portion is depleted. (see schedule below).
From the beginning of that time frame until the funds are exhausted, each online donation will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $250. We expect increased donations during match opportunities and it is likely that funds allotted to that start time will be exhausted in under a minute. These funds will be distributed along the schedule below:
June 8
5:00 PM - $100,000 **** Upper Valley Match $10,000 also TRIPLE MATCH TIME!
6:00 PM - $20,000
7:00 PM - $20,000
8:00 PM - $20,000
9:00 PM - $20,000
June 9
8:00 AM - $20,000
9:00 AM - $20,000
12:00 PM - $20,000
3:00 PM - $20,000 *****Upper Valley Match $9000 also TRIPLE MATCH TIME
4:00 PM - $40,000
The take home: there will be chances to DOUBLE and even TRIPLE your gift!