Gift cards needed for older kids, Pease'n Carrots begins: Community news update
Portsmouth seeks gift card donations to for older kids
PORTSMOUTH – The city’s welfare office is collecting gift cards for families who have older kids who are not typically served by other gift donation programs.
Welfare Department Administrator Ellen Tully said, “Local agencies who provide holiday assistance do a wonderful job here in Portsmouth, but teenagers can be a difficult population to serve. To help close that gap, the Welfare Department is again collecting gift cards in small denominations for things like movie tickets, coffee houses, stores such as Old Navy, GameStop and Kohl's. The community was very generous in donating gift cards to purchase back-to-school supplies and has helped each year to make the holidays more cheerful for this group, too.”
Address gift card donations to “Ellen Tully, Welfare Department” and drop them in the grey drop box in front of City Hall or via mail c/o Ellen Tully, Welfare Department, City Hall, 1 Junkins Ave. Portsmouth NH 03801. Please contact Ellen Tully, 610-7267, etully@cityofportsmouth.com with any questions.
16th annual Pease’n Carrots food drive
PORTSMOUTH — 16th annual Pease’n Carrots food drive to benefit Gather and Dross Roads House is underway and seeking donations through Dec. 20.
Nutritious nonperishable food items in good condition as well s monetary donations are accepted. Awards will be given to businesses that collects the most food and funds.
Requested items: Ready to eat soup, pasta, flavored oatmeal, granola bars, canned peas, canned carrots, baking products, boxed non-dairy milk.
For more information email pnc@gathernh.org.
Children’s Museum of New Hampshire receives grant
DOVER– The Roger R. and Theresa S. Thompson Endowment Fund announces the awarding of $114,065 in grants to six nonprofit organizations in New Hampshire and Maine: Berwick Academy, Children’s Museum of New Hampshire, Pine Tree Society, Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center, Future In Sight and Strawbery Banke Museum.
The Trustees of the Trust approved a grant to the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire, Dover N.H. to support the design, construction and installation of components for a new Farm Exhibit for young visitors.
To learn more about Thompson Fund beneficiaries and prior grant-funded initiatives, visit ThompsonFund.org and follow the Thompson Fund on Facebook.
Portsmouth and Portsmouth Listens to host ‘Places to Live’ dialogue
PORTSMOUTH – The city has engaged Portsmouth Listens to facilitate a series of community participation events about "Places to Live" in the city. This effort is to listen to and inform the community about housing concerns. Events will be held in January and February 2024 to discuss existing places to live, challenges in accessing them, ways to create more, and the impacts of doing so.
Participants will discuss housing needs in depth and develop recommendations.
The series begins with “Housing 101” on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall.
For more information and to register as a participant, visit: PortsmouthListens.org or portsnh.co/placestolive, or contact Howard Snyder, housing navigator in the vity’s Planning & Sustainability Department at hasnyder@cityofportsmouth.com.
New nonprofit helps owners in need save their beloved pets
DOVER — Amy Shaw’s 10-month-old kitten “Bruno” was clearly in crisis. With each passing day, the playful orange tabby was struggling to survive. A visit to the vet brought a dire diagnosis. Without surgery to remove what turned out to be a swallowed thread, Bruno had no chance.
Similarly, “Lillith,” one of two adopted kitten siblings, had developed a swollen milky eye caused by glaucoma. Her owner, Gina Terreault, a caregiver with health issues of her own, faced a life and death decision for her beloved pet.
In both instances, Shaw and Terreault were able to turn to N.H. Pet Aid, a new non-profit founded to help pet owners in need pay for their cat or dog’s urgent veterinary care. Within an hour of the request, N.H. Pet Aid’s three-person decision board had funds ready to go directly to the vet when requested.
Founded in 2021, N.H. Pet Aid is the brainchild of Dover vet Dan Kelleher and two friends, Diane Schaefer and Patty Cohen of Portsmouth, both of whom had the same idea. Brought together by Maria Solari of GoodWork, Schaeffer and Cohen provided the non-profit skills that could make Kelleher’s dream come alive. And it did.
Already to date almost 100 cats and dogs in Rockingham and Strafford counties, where N.H. Pet Aid provides services, have been helped. More than $32,000 dollars has been raised. The maximum grant is $500, but it often serves as a catalyst for other funding sources.
Information: nhpetaid.org
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Gift cards needed for kids, Pease'n Carrots begins: Community news
