The Newtown Quaker Meeting children and teenagers hosted a Simple Supper to raise funds for their selected charity this year and raised $2,340 for the Aark Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in Chalfont, PA.
The Quaker Kids have now raised $41,987. the last twelve years by hosting annual Simple Suppers and Lasagna Dinners for charities of their choice — even virtual meals during the Pandemic!
Last year the young people raised $1,552 with a virtual dinner for Bucks County SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).
Leah Stallings, Executive Director of Aark, spoke to the group, and to everyone’s delight brought with her a rescued, one-eyed screech owl which had been hit by a car while scavenging for bugs.
Nineteen children and teens participated in welcoming people, serving the meals, washing up afterwards, and collecting donations from the attendees.
Twenty-nine adults donated a dazzling array of soups and desserts. Soups included chicken tortilla, green posole with mushrooms, West African peanut, Tuscan bean with sausage, and Welsh cawl. Desserts featured brownies, carrot cake, red velvet, chocolate stout cupcakes, blueberry pie, cherry pie, lemon pound cake, Italian cookies, and walnut and date cookies,
Lisa Li of West Windsor, NJ, head of the children’s Simple Supper Committee, said, “The children and teens of our meeting worked together beautifully: presenting the menus, serving the tables, clearing tables, and collecting donations for their charity of choice this year. Cynthia Vandenberg, a fellow mom and a long- time co- coordinator of these fundraiser dinners, was terrific as always in managing the details behind the scenes.”
Previous recipients of the funds raised at charitable events by the Newtown Quaker young people have included: Habitat for Humanity; US hurricane relief via the All Hands Volunteers charity; Syrian refugee relief via the Shelterbox charity; Valley Youth House’s Synergy Project for homeless youth in Bucks County and Allentown; Haiti Relief; The School for Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA), the first boarding school for girls in Afghanistan; Greater Philadelphia Diaper Bank; Mercer Street Friends Center in Trenton; Penndel Food Pantry; Save Darfur; and Heifer International.
Newtown Friends Meeting, co-founded by the Quaker artist and minister, Edward Hicks, in 1815, holds services every First Day (Sunday). First Day classes for children and adults are at 9:45 a.m. and Meeting for Worship is at 11:00 a.m. Professional childcare is provided. All meetings are open to the public and visitors are warmly welcomed.
by Norval Reece