*Doing together what we cannot do alone | | |
Dear Friend,
This is the Food Pantry’s busiest time of the year! We were so touched by a small moment that occurred one day during the hustle and bustle. When Sarah came by the Food Pantry to pick up groceries, something caught her eye: newly designed volunteer t-shirts, worn by one of our team members. Bold, simple, and full of heart, the shirts represent the spirit of Friends In Deed.
Sarah pointed to it with a smile and asked, “Are these shirts for sale? I would be so proud to wear it. You do such good work here.” That small moment was deeply meaningful; It reminded us that what we give isn’t just food. It’s dignity, connection, and pride in being part of something bigger.
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The pantry has been rockin’ and rollin’, and the fun will keep on coming in the next few weeks. For Thanksgiving, we provided 450 families with turkeys and sides for their holiday tables. Now, with the winter holidays fast approaching, we pivot to Christmas for the Kids, our annual holiday gift giveaway, in partnership with Vroman’s Bookstore and so many of our community partners. We expect to help over 300 households be able to share presents with their children, a feeling of joy and gratitude.
And, like Sarah, if you want to show your FID Pride, there are some ways you can do that. We have yard signs and stickers available for you and your friends (email development@friendsindeedpas.org to request yours). And we have an online swag store where you can purchase all kinds of cool FID stuff. They make great gifts for family and friends. These are wonderful ways to show your affection for FID and let the world know–they may ask you about us, go on our website–you never know!
Thanks so much for all of your support and generosity. And of course, we have now launched our annual winter appeal, our largest fundraiser of the year. If you haven’t seen them yet, letters, postcards, and emails are on the way, so please consider a gift to help us continue to share compassion and dignity with our most vulnerable neighbors.
Blessings and have a lovely weekend,
Rabbi Joshua
| | We can only operate with your help! | | | | The Women’s Room is in urgent need of cold-weather essentials to help our guests stay warm, dry, and safe | |
Urgently Needed Items:
• Hot hand warmers
• Beanies
• Gloves
• Emergency blankets
We’ve made sure all of these items are easy to find on our Amazon Wish List.
| | | | The Giving Trees are up at Vroman’s! 🎁✨ | When you’re out doing your holiday shopping, stop by the Vroman’s Kids Department and pick a snowflake from the tree. Each one represents a local child whose family relies on Friends In Deed, and your gift will make their Christmas morning a little brighter...Learn more. | | | | Giving Tuesday was this week | |
Through all the challenges 2025 has brought, you’ve shown up with compassion, generosity, and a shared commitment to caring for our neighbors experiencing homelessness and vulnerability.
There's still time to donate. Every gift, big or small, helps us meet the increasing needs in our community and continue to provide hope, stability, and support...Make a gift.
| | | | Join us in welcoming our new Director of Street Outreach and Housing, Giulianna LoMaglio! | Giulianna comes to Friends In Deed with powerful lived experience and more than 20 years of leadership in homeless services. Her compassion, resilience, and unwavering belief in every person’s right to safety and stability have guided her work supporting and housing hundreds of individuals and families...Read more. | | Our Bonfire Shop is Open! | | |
We now have a print-on-demand shop where you can purchase Friends In Deed t-shirts, mugs, and tote bags.
A small portion of the proceeds will go back to Friends In Deed!
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At Friends In Deed, we honor the dignity and privacy of every person we serve. The stories we share are real, but sometimes, we change names or minor details or use stock photos to protect our clients’ identities. Thanks for your compassion, understanding, and support.
Friends In Deed is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. We embrace and celebrate the spectrum of our employees’, volunteers’, and clients’ ages, color, ability or disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, neurodiversity, and other characteristics that make our employees, volunteers, and clients unique.
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