The team has volunteered to collect canned goods and donations for the Greater Plymouth Food Warehouse at local supermarkets during the next South Shore Community Action Council food drive scheduled for Saturday, March 1.
Outreach associate Jean Johnson said local youth organizations have helped with food drives over the years, and the South Shore Community Action Council appreciates the hockey team volunteering to help to fill a serious need in the community.
“We appreciate it so much because for the most part the warehouse is staffed by volunteers, and a lot of the packages are very heavy, so it’s great to have the young people there,” she said. “It’s so good to see young people involved in community projects.”
During the last food drive, Dec. 8, the central warehouse received 4,248 pounds of donated food, or the equivalent of roughly 3,268 meals. About $715 was also raised. The warehouse supplies food to local church food pantries, along with local Head Start programs and councils on aging.
Johnson said when she has the opportunity to talk with church leaders about the number of people who look for help from the local food pantries, it’s clear what a real service the hockey team and other youth groups provide.
“They are getting more and more families a week who need a little help,” she said.
From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 1, the boys and parent volunteers will be at the Shaw’s supermarket at 20 Pilgrim Hill Road, the Stop & Shop stores on Route 3A in Manomet and 160 Summer St. in Kingston, and at the Wal-Mart at Colony Place.
Shoppers will be handed imprinted bags as they enter the stores and afterward will drop those bags filled with nonperishable food with members of the hockey team. Donations can also be dropped off at the food warehouse, located at 14 Apollo Road in the Plymouth Industrial Park.
Members of the hockey team will also help out at the food warehouse, where the food needs to be checked over for expiration dates and then weighed in and stored. Johnson said it’s always fun to work with young people because they are cheerful, willing workers.
Since John Greene took over as coach of the team, there has been an emphasis on community service to which the players have committed themselves, Dave McGrath, father of senior hockey player Dave McGrath, said. Greene asked McGrath for help reaching out to the community, and in just a matter of months, the team has followed the coaching staff’s lead.
In December the team collected about 170 coats and delivered them to the St. Francis House serving the homeless in Boston. More recently, Feb. 10 the boys cleaned up after a dinner for the homeless at St. Peter’s Food Pantry. The hockey season ends this Friday, but the team will help with the food drive in March and hopes to help out another organization over the summer.
McGrath said it’s all about making the boys more aware of people who don’t have the advantages they do, whether it’s as they enter the Saint Francis House for the first time or see all the food they will help collect for the warehouse.
“When you see a bag full of food being left with you or you’re giving someone a bag, you know that you’re doing something to help someone else out,” he said.
Plymouth North Hockey Team
