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Community Corner

First Parish of Westwood Offers Thanks to Westwood and Beyond

In this season of gratitude, First Parish of Westwood has many blessings to be thankful for.  That list includes the residents of Westwood and other communities who have supported its two recent mission and outreach projects.

Through the "Farmer's Market to Food Pantry" program, the church coordinated collecting donations each week at the Westwood Farmer's Market.  These monetary donations were used to shop at the market for fresh produce that was then made available to clients at the Westwood Food Pantry.  Over the summer and fall, clients and their families were able to choose from a variety of fresh produce to round out the usual food pantry offerings.

Thanks to the contributions of loose change or other donations, over $500 was raised for Food Pantry families.  Thank you to customers at the Farmer's Market and to the farmers for partnering with First Parish in this project.

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A familiar October scene in Westwood is the pumpkin patch that appears almost magically in front of the church's Parish Hall.  The First Parish Pumpkin Patch is in its 9th year of operation.  Selling 1300 pumpkins could seem like a daunting task.  But thanks again to the generosity of people from Westwood and other communities, the Patch was empty by Halloween and over $3500 was raised.

The pumpkins sold in the Pumpkin Patch are grown on a Navajo Reservation near Farmington, New Mexico and harvested by local workers under the auspices of Pumpkin Patch Fundraisers Inc.  So, even from the very beginning our pumpkins are hard at work, providing much needed employment for the region's inhabitants.

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The pumpkins at First Parish may cost a little bit more but it is worth it.  Since 2004 our loyal customers have helped our pumpkins raise over $30,000.  All proceeds go directly toward First Parish's charitable works.  These include the ARC of Southern Norfolk County, Westwood Food Pantry, Pine Street Inn, Rosie's Place, and Seafarer's Mission.

First Parish of Westwood, located at the intersection of Clapboardtree and Nahatan streets, is part of the United Church of Christ, where "to believe is to care and to care is to do."

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