Rising to the Occassion

Fun Friday Family Drive Thru

May 8, 2020

We loved seeing all of our members and their families and new friends too!! #community#together#bgc#marshfield

Marshfield Youth Hockey
St. Ann by the Sea
Molly Fitzgerald Memorial Fund
Family Crest Catering
The Polcari’s Bridgewaye Inn
Fedeles Chocolates Pembroke & Plymouth

RISING TO THE OCCASION BY ALYSSA QUACKENBUSH

The Boys and Girls Club of Marshfield has been a backbone to the community for its over 20 years of existence. But, of course, with this pandemic affecting our town in ways nobody could have ever anticipated, the Boys and Girls Club, headed by CEO Jim Bunnell, has taken the opportunity to rise to the occasion. 

Traditionally there for kids to have a safe space when they’re not in school, the Boys and Girls Club of Marshfield has expanded the ways in which they are helping these kids as schools transitioned to online learning. Food insecurity is debilitating enough on a regular day, so making sure that these kids aren’t left behind during this time of health and financial crises is a major concern for the Boys and Girls Club.  

Jim is working closely with Julie Johnson of the Marshfield Food Pantry to be a much-needed resource for kids and families who are in a place of financial or food insecurity at this time.

Jim recalls closing up the Club on March 16 and reopening again on March 17 with renewed strategies to maintain and uphold the same mission; to be there for their kids and their community. It started with taking on the task of providing school children with meals that they no longer would be getting from school. In conjunction with the volunteer school district staff who help deliver the meals to kids around town, the Boys and Girls Club hosts a curbside meal pickup 2 days a week to provide a week’s worth of meals. 

Unfortunately, the kids who rely upon the school food program oftentimes go hungry on the weekends. With this in mind, Jim and Julie devised a Friday night dinner drive-thru pickup in addition to the breakfasts and lunches that they were already providing. They have gone from being able to provide 120 meals on that first Friday to most recently serving 325 meals with deserts, games, books, and other activities, too, thanks to the support they’ve been continually receiving from local businesses and sponsors like David Crest Catering, Mia Regazza, The Bridgwaye, Peppermint Twist, and the Marshfield Country Club, to name only a few.

If you are interested in sponsoring one of these Friday Night Family Fun Drive Thru or own a business that would like to help out, please reach out to Jim Bunnell of the Boys and Girls Club or Julie Johnson of the Food Pantry. The next 4 Fridays are all planned, but ideally, this program will last through the summer. 

Recent pandemic related circumstances have resulted in the cancellation or postponement of three of the five major fundraisers that are responsible for about 50% of the Boys and Girls Club’s operating budget.

Now more than ever, if you’re looking to help out, the best way to do so would be through a financial donation.

The donation page can be found on the Boys and Girls Club website. https://www.bgcmarshfield.org/

FUN FRIDAY FAMILY DRIVE THRU SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES please contact jim or julie!

JIM BUNNELL, 781- 834-2582

JULIE JOHNSON, 781-727-2219