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COMMUNITY NEWS Community Service in Times of COVID-19

Brownie Troop Tops Their Goal for Second Harvest

By Carrie Mulcaire

How does a group of 8-year old Girl Scouts seek to reach out to their community and help those in need while maintaining health and safety during a pandemic?

Parents expressed understandable concern for in-person community service work as COVID-19 ravaged on.

Back in November, Brownie Troop #15015 had a financial literacy lesson on philanthropy. Kristin Fabos, Second Harvest board member and Cabrillo College marketing director, spared her time to serve as a guest speaker.

She discussed the role of the local food bank in assisting with food insecurity in Santa Cruz County, especially during COVID-19. As a former Girl Scout, she understands the value of learning about service work at an early age.

Partnership is key — over 200 organizations partner on a weekly basis with Second Harvest. The food bank obtains discounts on food purchases as much as a quarter of what our normal dollar extends in the store.

So when you donate $1 to the food bank, it is as if you are donating $4. Each individual meal is only 25 cents so that a donation of $1 translates into four meals!

It was decided — the troop would participate in Second Harvest’s 2020 Virtual Holiday Food drive to raise funds and food! The fundraising effort lasted through December to emphasize the value of giving back during the holidays.

The girls were imaginative in coming up with their own solutions to fundraising in a safe but creative manner: • One troop member collected money from a lemonade stand • Others emailed out a link to their food drive webpage for friends and family to donate • Some posted the online food drive weblink on their parents’

Facebook page • One girl recruited family members to make a large donation • Many of the girls raided their own cupboards for canned food and advertised to their neighbors to drop off canned food at their doorstep and

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As valued partners and dedicated professionals, health care providers and staff can be relied upon to do their best for patients every day. And as we manage COVID-19, they are all going above and beyond to ensure we meet the needs of our patients and the safety of our community. To doctors,