FOOD DRIVE — Worcester County Sheriff Lewis G. Evangelidis’ annual food drive provides Thanksgiving meals to over 2,000 local families in need. Left to right — Friendly House Staff Member Josephina Valez, Worcester Sharks Director of Community Relations Michael Myers, Sharks Mascot Finz, Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis, Food Drive Recipient Donna Buteau and a Friendly House Volunteer.
WORCESTER — Worcester County Sheriff Lewis G. Evangelidis along with Worcester Sharks President Michael A. Mudd and Friendly House Executive Director Gordon Hargrove recently announced the conclusion to the overwhelmingly successful Worcester County Sheriff’s seventh annual Food Drive.
In all, the Sheriff’s Food Drive was a huge success collecting over 50,000 pounds in donated food items and Thanksgiving turkeys to be distributed by the Friendly House of Worcester to over 2,000 local families in need.
“It was a pleasure to partner with the Worcester Sharks and the Friendly House for the food drive. With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, it is extremely important especially during this difficult economic time to do all we can to help those families in our community who may be less fortunate,” said Evangelidis. “The Sheriff’s Annual Food Drive has a great tradition of giving back and this year over 50,000 pounds of donated food items were collected which will provide a wonderful Thanksgiving meal to over 2,000 local families in need during this holiday season.”
“We can not thank Sheriff Evangelidis enough for his tremendous support of the annual food drive and for his support of the Friendly House. This year’s food drive was by far the most successful effort yet, collecting more food donations and going to benefit more families in need with Thanksgiving dinner than in years past. We look forward to partnering with the sheriff every year on this wonderful annual event that benefits so many in our community,” said Hargrove.
“As a single mom, receiving this wonderful Thanksgiving Day meal from the annual food drive means a tremendous amount to me and my family. I cannot begin to thank Sheriff Evangelidis and the Friendly House enough for their overwhelming support and generosity especially during the holiday season,” said Worcester resident and Sheriff’s Food Drive recipient Donna Buteau.
Other partners in this year’s food drive include Price Chopper, Worcester County Food Bank, WPI Fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha, Fallon Community Healthcare, Worcester Academy, David Gibbs and Family, private donors, Massachusetts National Guard, Charter TV3 and WCRN. In addition, Evangelidis provided inmate assistance from the Sheriff’s Community Service Program to help unload the truckloads of donated food items and Thanksgiving turkeys at the Friendly House.
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