St. Stephen Lutheran Church Packs 22 Welcome Kits for Fresh Start

​Melanie Whapham, second front right, who delivered the completed kitchen kits to Fresh Start Furniture Bank, with Fresh Start volunteers, from left: Jocelyn Milton, Donna Zinck, Ann Cattarin, (Melanie Whapham), and  Sarah Giansante.

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​Volunteers at St. Stephen Lutheran Church packed 22 bags with kitchen items for Fresh Start Furniture Bank. From left, Martha Domke, Peg Harbert, Paula Blomquist, Joni Schaulkhauser, and Melanie Whapham pause for a photo.

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Members of St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Marlboro, packaged 22 kitchen-themed welcome bags for clients of Fresh Start Furniture Bank, filled with cutting boards, measuring cups, strainers, mixing bowls, cooking utensils, and more, and delivered them this week, along with specialty items, ranging from baking pans and cookie sheets to toaster ovens and wire whisks. Extra and additional items filled another half-dozen bags, and boxes with small appliances topped off a rolling cart as volunteers transferred them from the church to a vehicle for delivery to the Hudson-based Fresh Start.

            The project was made possible by donations from those who attended the recent jazz concert presented by The Rebecca Pagano Quartet as part of St. Stephen Presents, a quarterly musical program.  Music lovers were asked to bring kitchen gadgets or small appliances as their admission fee to the well-attended event. Many also made cash contributions. More than $500 was donated. Another $500 from Thrivent Financial was used to purchase additional items people who are setting up new households might need. (Thrivent is a Fortune 500 financial services company that sponsors generosity programs; Thrivent members from St. Stephen applied for the funding for the Fresh Start kitchen kits.) 

            “We were delighted to partner with an organization as exciting as Fresh Start Furniture Bank,” said  Martha Domke, who along with Melanie Whapham spearheaded the project through the church’s Social Ministry team. “Fresh Start has been very supportive of our efforts and we feel confident that the kits will go to deserving individuals and families. We look forward to working with them again in the future.”

            “All of the volunteers at FSFB are happy, encouraging folks,” Melanie added. “It is hard not to catch their enthusiasm.” St. Stephen Lutheran Church has supported  Fresh Start in a variety of projects over the years, she noted.  A collection of small furniture pieces is a potential future endeavor.
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            For more information about the church, visit www.saintstephenlutheran.com  or the church’s Facebook page. Saint Stephen is a member of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (www.elca.org) . The church is a Reconciling in Christ congregation, inviting people of every gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, ability, marital status, or class. Parishioners come from Marlborough, Hudson, Berlin, Northborough, Southborough, Westborough, Shrewsbury, Sudbury, Stow, and Bolton. Sunday worship is at 10 am, with Sunday School preceding it at 9 am.