Many Give Back During Community Round-Up

Pair over 350 volunteers, with 13,000 plus donated food goods and over $2,500 in gift cards and donations and what do you have; the sixth annual community round up in Durham and Middlefield.

This special holiday event, which has a very large following, is held every year on the first Saturday in December at Coginchaug Regional High School in Durham, and this year the massive amount of “good energy” felt in the school gymnasium was palpable.

“We keep doing it because there are always families that need a little extra to help them get by and the kids volunteering need to have a way to learn how to give back,” says event coordinator Beth Galligan, who actually started this program several years ago in North Branford, where it is still going strong.

The exciting aspect of this particular holiday round-up is that it is purposely infused with a whole lot of fun.

This year, 84 teams of four to five kids of all ages, along with a team driver, gathered at the school between 8:15 and 9 a.m. for breakfast, provided by the Durham Women’s Club and to get their round-up folders, which includes a map and suggestions on how to go about collecting donations. Each team receives a designated neighborhood or area of either Durham or Middlefield to collect donations from.

“We tell the kids not to go to houses where they hear animals, or if they don’t think anyone is home. They are also told that if someone doesn’t want to donate or doesn’t have something to give then the teams are just to say thank you for your time and Happy Holidays. There is no pressure on the home owners,” explains Galligan, who is the director of the guidance department at Coginchaug.

She adds, “Honestly, we have been doing it for such a long time now that people are waiting for it and even if they are not going to be home, they leave bags of food on the steps to donate. This has really become part of the culture of the towns.”

After collecting the goods the teams rush back to the high school by noon so their bounty can be divvied up appropriately. A portion of the food is packed up for designated needy families in Durham, another portion of the food goes to the food pantry in Middlefield, a percentage goes to the Children’s Nutrition Program run by Durham Middlefield Youth and Family Services and the remainder goes to the Amazing Grace Food Bank in Middletown, which can be accessed by both Durham and Middlefield residents.

“This is a great way for the kids to have a good time with their friends and give back to the community at the same time,” says Galligan. “We have good kids here and people need to know that.”

Coginchaug high school junior, Abby Lohmann has been volunteering at this event for the past two years, “I think this is great for the community. Every town should do something like this,” Lohmann says. “I love doing this because I enjoy helping others.”

Twin brothers Jonathon and Andrew Conway have been volunteering to collect food for this event for the past four years. They both agree that, “…it feels good to give back.”

“This day is always a lot of fun and we plan to keep on coming back as long as we can,” says Jonathon.

In addition to the kids, there are several adults who are very engrossed in volunteering for this special community event.

“We have teachers, parents, principals, superintendents, local business owners and many, many others who come out to get involved, which is really wonderful to see,” acknowledges Galligan, who points out that because of the wide range of ages working together it is a perfect “cross age” experience, which is very important for everyone involved, because it makes everyone feel like worthwhile contributors.

“Last year I had a women come to me and ask, ‘Do you know why I am here?’ She explained that the previous year she had some medical problems and her husband had lost his job and they needed to receive some food from the donations that were collected at this event. Since then the women got better and her husband and her were both back working full-time, but she wanted to make sure to volunteer at this event as her way of giving back to a program that gave to her when she needed it. That really says it all,” says Galligan.