JUNE 2026
Hello Neighbors,
  
It’s almost time to put away the backpacks for the summer, but before school is dismissed I want to share a few thoughts.  

This year we experienced unprecedented growth in the number of families served and pantry orders filled - you can see the numbers below. We know the need is often hidden in Ballantyne, but the data tells us it is increasing. We are blessed to have generous donors, volunteers, and partners that allow us to meet our neighbors where they are and continue to provide help. 

I am happy to share that last week we delivered $81,650 in gift cards to support 113 families over the summer. This was our fourth and final seasonal giving event of the year. In addition to these events and the weekly operations of the Food & Hygiene Pantry, we were blessed to tackle several new initiatives this year:
  • Adding certain hygiene products not covered by SNAP benefits to the pantry
  • Holding our first annual Snack Drive to stock school counselors’ offices with snacks for hungry students during the school day

  • Translating our Resource Guide into Russian   
We will be taking a break over the summer but will be ready to pick up where we left off when school starts in August. Thank you for being part of our organization and making a meaningful difference in the lives of our local families! 
  
Please share this newsletter with friends and neighbors and invite them to follow us on social media.  
  
❤️ Wishing you a wonderful summer,
Signature of Heather McAfee

PARTNERSHIPS / FOOD DRIVES
👏 Thank you to the 5th grade class at Polo Ridge Elementary who provided 20 Birthday Bags for their class project! These bags contain necessary ingredients to make and decorate a birthday cake and are available to our families as part of their pantry order.  

👏 Congratulations to Greco Fresh Grill on their 15 year anniversary! To celebrate, they are holding a food drive in their restaurants during the month of June. Look for details at one of their locations.  

👏 Thank you to Hanover Insurance Group for holding a food drive during the month of June. 

👏 Thank you to Food Lion, Aldi and Wegman’s for their generous donations.
  

FOOD & HYGIENE PANTRY NEWS
Volunteers after filling 66 pantry orders - the largest shopping day in our history

The volume of orders in the Food & Hygiene Pantry TRIPLED this school year!
  • In May, we fulfilled 157 pantry requests.
  • The 66 requests filled on June 4 was our largest shopping day ever!
😎 The pantry will be closed for the summer and will re-open once school resumes. 


Coming next year to the pantry: MEAL KITS

Starting in the 2026-2027 school year, we will add several easy-to-prepare meal kits that contain the ingredients needed to create a complete family meal to the pantry. The goal is to help reduce stress for families facing food insecurity by making meal preparation simple, affordable, and accessible.

These kits do more than feed families - they create meaningful opportunities for our community to serve together and support others. To participate, community groups would be asked to purchase meal kit ingredients, host a volunteer packing event, assemble the meal kits and deliver them to the pantry. Volunteers of all ages can participate.

If you or your group are interested in providing meal kits in the future, please contact HeatherFray@ballantynefamilies.org

     COUNSELOR UPDATE  
  • We bid a bittersweet farewell to our Counselor-at-Large / Executive Board Member Valerie Johnson, who has taken a new position at Palisades High School. Valerie has been a driving force behind our mission and has helped shape the organization over the past six years. Her compassion, leadership and commitment to serving others have left a lasting mark on our organization and community. Thank you, Valerie, for being such an important part of our story!
  • We look forward to welcoming Amber Brown, who is a counselor at Elon Park, to the Executive Board in the coming school year.
  • We are also sad to see Lisa Smith move to another school outside the Ballantyne area. Lisa has played an important role in our mission since our founding in 2020 and as a counselor at Jay M. Robinson Middle School she has been a tireless advocate for families in need. We wish her the best in her new role!

     🌷     VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH 🌷   
Congratulations to Kim Pongetti  for being named as Volunteer of the Month! Kim is a long-time volunteer in our Food & Hygiene Pantry. 

Kim said, "This organization is a family supporting families, and I am grateful to be part of it. The amazing team that coordinates the volunteers makes everyone feel valued and welcome from the moment they arrive. The volunteers have become friends that I look forward to seeing and chatting with each time we pack bags together.

Every time I serve, I leave feeling inspired and filled with gratitude for the opportunity to help members of our community in such a meaningful way."  
  
Thank you Kim!

WHAT'S NEXT
  • June 10: Last day of school
  • July 4: BFHNIN at Ballantyne250 Celebration in Ballantyne's Backyard
  • August 25: First day of school
  • September - Snack Drive during National Hunger Month 
REMINDERS & REQUESTS 
  
🍎 If you received this newsletter from a friend, sign up to get connected here.
     
🍎 We have several roles open on our volunteer team: 
  • Russian Translator - Several times a year we need someone to help us translate updates to our     Resource Guide into Russian. The expected time commitment is one to two hours per quarter. If you are able to help, please contact Julie White at encouragingnotes@ballantynefamilies.org  
  • CPA - We need help with tax preparation and financial audits. Please contact Jill LeClair for more information at jillale513@gmail.com  
  • Thanksgiving and Winter Holiday Giving Event Support - We are looking for someone to support our co-chairs with various tasks and errands as they come up during the campaign. This would require a commitment of one to two hours per week during the campaign. Contact Heather McAfee if you are interested in helping. heather@ballantynefamilies.org
  • Encouraging Notes Chair for Next Year - We are looking for someone to shadow our current chair this coming school year to learn the ropes for organizing our encouraging notes outreach for the 2027-2028 school year. Encouraging notes are created by volunteers, including students, and accompany all of our seasonal giving.  Contact Julie White at encouragingnotes@ballantynefamilies.org if you are interested in learning more.
DONATE
AMAZON WISHLIST

WORDS OF THANKS
"Thank you so much to everyone sacrificing their time, money, and energy to be helpful. It means so much to families like mine.”   
     
     ~ Ballantyne Family

 
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