Santa’s elves have been busy at VIP Honda in North Plainfield, and, as a result, hundreds of Plainfield children will receive Christmas presents with their holiday meal provided by Star Fish Food Pantry.
Star Fish volunteers packed 150 Thanksgiving dinner bags in November and also on December 22 for families in need in Plainfield. Along with the Christmas dinners and all the fixings, the group distributed children’s toys of all kinds to help brighten their holiday.
Marie Pase, administrator for the Star Fish Food Pantry, was contacted by VIP Honda representatives Marissa Carter and Amanda Kavanaugh with the offer for toys. “The folks at VIP have donated toys for years,” said Marie. “It’s a wonderful tradition that is so generous.”
According to the staff in the Accounting Office, the VIP employees prepare all the food for their Thanksgiving luncheon, and each person attending gives a cash donation for the toys. Bill Vince, owner of VIP, matches the employees’ donations. Office workers, led by Marissa and Amanda, then purchase toys for each age group from 1 to teens.
Star Fish volunteers picked up all of the presents from VIP Honda and brought them to Covenant United Methodist Church basement, where other elves in Santa’s workshop prepared them for distribution with the Christmas holiday meal bags.
Volunteers at Star Fish will pack the dinner bags with canned vegetables, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, turkeys or large chickens, yams, cranberry sauce, milk, butter, and tea bags. Topping off the dinners will be homemade cakes, specially decorated for Christmas, made by Girl Scouts, friends of volunteers, co-workers and former co-workers.
Among the people donating food every year are members of the Rotary Club of Plainfield- North Plainfield who donate twelve dinners to supplement those packed by the volunteers. The club also donates twelve dinners to Star Fish for the Thanksgiving and Easter holidays each year.
Star Fish Food Pantry has served the people of Plainfield since 1971. Donations and volunteers are always welcome. More information is available on the Star Fish website at www.starfishplainfield.org.
(above) Toys of all types were donated by VIP Honda of North Plainfield await children whose families will also receive Christmas dinners, courtesy of Star Fish Food Pantry.
