Local Farmers Honor Volunteers

The Care & Share Thrift Shoppes’ honored their volunteers who contributed over 71,917 hours of volunteer service in 2009 at their annual appreciation banquet. Lowe’s Gift Cards will be donated to Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) Sharing with Appalachian People (SWAP) program in Whitesburg, Kentucky. Gift Cards of $500 were funded by the Care & Share Thrift Shoppes and matched by the generosity of the Kolb Farm Store in Spring City, PA providing a total of $1,000 in Lowe’s Gift Cards.

Using the efforts of volunteers, SWAP addresses sub-standard housing in eastern Kentucky and West Virginia. Participants work with local clients "In the name of Christ", sharing the message of God's love and building relationships that serve to enrich all involved.

Sarah Bergin, Executive Director of the Care and Share Thrift Shoppes, explained the connection between the Kolb Farm Store and volunteers at the Care & Share, “We have been very blessed by the continued generosity extended to us by the Kolb Farm Store in Spring City. To help provide a broader understanding of MCC’s work in the world, we provide tours for new volunteers to the Ephrata and Harleysville MCC Resource Centers. On the return trip, we stop by the Kolb Farm Store. Our volunteers claim the best ice cream is at the Kolb Farm Store!” Bergin then mentions the matching gift, “The gift to SWAP in the form of Lowe’s gift cards is our way to formally recognize our volunteers who make our local mission a reality. We are thrilled that the Kolb Farm matched our gift. Care & Share is very grateful to local community partners who honor our volunteers’ commitment.”

Photo of the Kolb Farmers: L-R: Paul Kolb, Roland Kolb, LeRoy Kolb

“In 2009, our volunteers really wowed us by increasing their volunteer time 9% over 2008,” shares Sue Miller, Volunteer Manager at the Care & Share. “This generous gift of volunteer time saves us dollars that we would need to pay for additional staff. These savings make it possible for us to give so much more to MCC, an organization our volunteers passionately support.”

Kolb’s Farm Store is a family owned and operated dairy farm and retail store in Chester County, Pa. since 1975. They are preserving their farm by providing the community with top-quality locally grown food products including: fresh top quality milk; hand-dipped ice cream; fresh baked goods and organic breads; full service deli; bulk packaged foods and snacks; locally grown produce; and flowers.