Thanks to caring neighbors, 185 kids went back to school ready to succeed with sturdy new backpacks brimming with school supplies, plus extras for the classroom. Once again we were impressed by our community's generosity and the care put into making the packs 'just right' for the kids. It all added up to a great start to the beginning of this very unusual school year. One parent told us, the packs "had everything they needed, and more" and a dad said, "As a single parent, I couldn't have done all this for my kids myself, thank you." >> More Thank You Notes

We are thankful to all who volunteered their time, brought in a pack, gave supplies, sponsored a child's backpack, or hosted a collection drive and helped us with the drive-through drop-off. We especially wish to thank Ann and the team at Scarborough School Nutrition and the school bus drivers for their help in getting many of the packs to families, and to Scarborough Public Safety for the use of their community room and help hosting the drive-through collection. Our appreciation also goes out to our co-leaders, Kelly Murphy and Jodi Shea, and to volunteers Ralph, Bert, Linda, Deb, Peggy, Hilde, and Sharyn.

So many neighbors helped us make this community effort such a resounding success again this year.

>>More news from SMAA

Have you heard? The Scarborough Food Pantry and South Portland Food Cupboard are open and have made changes to their hours. The Scarborough Food Pantry is open Tuesday and Thursday afternoons (1:30-4:00 p.m.) and the South Portland Food Cupboard is open Thursday mornings (8:30-11:00 a.m.) and also now Tuesday mornings (10:30-Noon). Both pantries are operating safely with curbside service. FMI and links: https://tockify.com/scarboroughcc/detail/1275/1600315200000

While it was a difficult decision to make, we have canceled our 13th Annual Trivia Bee fundraiser which was scheduled for October 22nd this year because we care about your safety and the well-being of our community during the pandemic.

Although we won’t be gathering in person this year, we will BEE returning to Camp Ketcha next year! Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 28, 2021 and plan to join us in the hive for Scarborough's funniest fundraiser.

Meanwhile, we will be announcing soon how you can support our goal of raising funds for our mission. With your help, we can lessen the impact of coronavirus on our neighbors.

Thank you for your support during this challenging time for our organization and our community as a whole.