From Our Editor, Nancy Allenby

“Small seeds of gratitude will produce a harvest of hope." 

Every day, our volunteers, community partners and donors plant seeds of hope. We are SO grateful to be in our sixth year of walking in their company to help our neighbors flourish! Please read on to learn about more opportunities to make a difference in the Kearsarge region, such as mentoring a child, participating in the Window Dressers window build, or signing up to help with KNP's holiday cards and cookies. THANK YOU for helping us produce a harvest of hope!

KNP Has a New Employee!

WE WELCOME AMY GREENBERG as our part-time Volunteer Support and Communications Assistant. Amy will work closely with the Communications team, as well as Volunteer Coordinator Beth Greenawalt and Partnership Coordinator Mel Hamel. With 25 years' experience in marketing, project coordination and relationship building, we're very much looking forward to Amy filling a wide variety of needs within the KNP organization.

A native of Massachusetts, Amy is a 5th generation graduate of UNH -- an institution her great, great-grandfather co-founded. An avid skier and outdoorswoman, she spent much of her career in her family's business in Massachusetts and now lives on Lake Sunapee. Amy says, "I have been volunteering with KNP for over a year and have gained a strong appreciation of the positive impact KNP’s volunteer offerings, not only for our neighbors but also for the volunteers. It is truly rewarding. I am beyond excited to be part of the KNP team to help the volunteer program continue to flourish." Welcome, Amy!

Now is the Perfect Time to Mentor a Child

THE SUPPORT AND AFFIRMATION THAT MENTORING OFFERS can make a lifelong impact for a young person. KNP partners with Windsor County Mentors. YOU can make a difference in a child's life by meeting with them for one hour each week at a Kearsarge area school. WCM will train you and match you with a child. For more information, email or call 802-674-5101.

It's Gleaning Season

KNP VOLUNTEERS HAVE BEEN BUSY harvesting surplus crops in the Kearsarge region. In a joint effort involving Spring Ledge Farm, KNP, Kearsarge Food Hub and Micro Mama's, KNP volunteers picked and husked 600 ears of corn at Spring Ledge Farm, more volunteers at the Kearsarge Food Hub cut it off the cobs and packed it into 175 one-pound freezer bags, and all of it was flash-frozen at the Micro Mama's facility in Weare. The frozen corn will be available in food pantries throughout the fall and winter. A second crew gleaned hundreds of pounds of potatoes at a farm in Andover. What a wonderfl way to add fresh produce to the shelves of our area food pantries!

Window Dressers Nov 12-16 THE 4th ANNUAL COMMUNITY BUILD of heat-saving custom interior storm windows will happen this month at St. Andrews Church in New London. Help us build sturdy energy-saving custom interior storm windows, which save energy and make winter heating much more affordable our Kearsarge-area neighbors. Please consider volunteering here for a 4-hour shift or two, to make food for the workers, or to serve at the welcome table! You can email to sign up manually, or with any questions.

More than half of the storm window recipients pay full price, but through our collaboration with WindowDressers of Maine, we can offer many of the inserts (up to ten per household annually) to SPECIAL RATE customers for FREE! We build windows, we build community, and we build relationships...and we train you on the job, so join the fun and sign up for a shift now!

Join the KNP Holiday Spirit

IT'S AN HONOR to share KNP holiday cards with our neighbors, donors and community partners, and to drop off bags of homemade cookies at the residences of neighbors who are actively receiving services from KNP. Please sign up on Better Impact now if you can address and mail cards or bake for "Kookies for Kearsarge." Both activities are fun and social, so come share some holiday spirit with us.

VOLUNTEER FEATURE:

THANKSGIVING GIFT BASKET PROJECT

KNP has been invited to steward the Annual Thanksgiving Gift Card Project for the Kearsarge region. For many years, the effort was lovingly hosted by St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Last year, 124 donors contributed $12,525, enabling this program to provide 132 local families with the funds to purchase a full Thanksgiving meal. Families receive a Market Basket or Hannaford gift card, allowing them to select foods most helpful to them. The heartfelt thank-you notes received tell us how much families value this choice.

With special thanks to Partnership Coordinator Mel Hamel and KNP volunteer Kel McCue who are spearheading the effort, KNP now serves as the host organization, with assistance from Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice, Kearsarge Regional Ecumenical Ministry (KREM), the Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, local churches, and other community partners. Please join us in continuing this cherished holiday tradition. Every dollar donated goes DIRECTLY TO THE GIFT CARDS for local families. Any money remaining will be rolled over into next year's Thanksgiving Basket project.

You can contribute online or, if you prefer, you can send a check payable to:

Kearsarge Neighborhood Partners – Thanksgiving Basket Project

PO Box 1442 New London, NH 03257

Your generosity helps local families enjoy the warmth and abundance of Thanksgiving.



KNP Gear as Gifts!

NEW KNP SHIRTS ARE ON THE WAY and they're the perfect holiday gift for a friend or loved one. We ordered a few extra short and long-sleeved shirts in the new blue denim color, and of course, we always have KNP hats. Just email us and we will arrange to get one to you.

"A Gift Has Been Made in Your Honor"

A KNP OFFERS BEAUTIFUL WINTER CARDS featuring the original artwork of local artist Carrie Bouton, for you to give to a friend or loved one to tell them you have made a donation to KNP in their honor. The 5x7" cards come with an envelope and can be mailed, or you can tuck them into your own cards or gifts for those who would appreciate knowing you have supported KNP in their name. We suggest a minimum donation of $10 per card. After making your donation, please email us and we will make arrangements to get these beautiful gift recognition cards to you.

KNP's Annual Report

HAVE YOU SEEN KNP's 2025 annual report? It offers a great snapshot of our impact in our 10-town region last year. Email us if you see something you might like to get involved in this year!

Have You Been Volunteering?

PLEASE REMEMBER TO LOG YOUR HOURS on Better Impact after participating in ANY KNP activity, either by computer or phone app. Simply click the "HOURS" tab and enter hours and/or minutes. Thanks!

**If you are not yet a KNP volunteer but would like to see opportunities to help, please sign up on line, call volunteer coordinator Beth at 603-317-5900 or email and she will cheerfully and patiently guide you through the process of joining us.

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