We received a lovely note from Julianne Reas, Gardens for Everyone Project Coordinator. How wonderful to see the tools that were purchased with funds we raised here in Creekside. The Gardens for Everyone project helps residents in the Triangle build raised-bed garden boxes. They provide support from seed to harvest. They have built over 110 boxes. This program enables families to have healthy food all year long. Thanks to everyone who donated. 

On May 24, seven Creekside Cares volunteers joined forces with four Fayetteville Street Elementary staff members to set up the school’s new outdoor education area. Thanks to the generosity of the Durham Public Schools Foundation, the school had received a $19,500 grant to purchase 18 steel picnic tables and 10 freestanding benches. After assembling one table and one bench, the staff realized that the remaining work was going to be more than they could manage. They reached out to Triangle Grace Church, which has had a long relationship with the school. Sue Bradley, a member of both Triangle Grace and Creekside Cares, offered to find Creekside volunteers to do the work. One email later, six men had stepped up to help. Work that would have taken the staff several days of hard labor was completed in three hours. Now, the students can enjoy having some of their classes outdoors in the shaded area alongside the school. ​

Thank you to the entire community for your support of our our Creekside Cares Helps Feed Our Community Campaign. Your generosity is mind-blowing. The Creekside at Bethpage community raised $3,000 total during our 7 day popup campaign. Our Creekside Cares Vice President, Paul Leifer delivered the final $2,000 this morning. With the current doubling campaign at Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, our gifts will be $6,000. 
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Please be reminded Larry and Scarlett Wilson will continue their collections on their porch at 1016 Cadence. The box on Larry and Scarlett's porch accepts both non-perishable food items and check donations. Since they began their collection 10 months ago, they have collected and delivered in excess of $5,130 to Inter-Faith Food Shuttle along with mountains of food. Their work at the Windsor Springs Senior Facility will continue. As this giving season ends, we know the needs of many will not end. We encourage you to visit Larry and Scarlett's collection box when you can!
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It's very exciting that we have two wonderful partnerships in our community with Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. Creekside Cares hopes to resume our Backpack Buddy and Food Box stuffing programs soon. We can't wait to resume our weekly Backpack Buddy distribution at WG Pearson Elementary. Meeting the kids we were were helping was especially heartwarming. 
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Please allow your Creekside Cares board to wish you a happy and healthy holiday season. We are praying that the New Year 2021 will be better. We are certain our big-hearted community will continue to come together. Thanks for helping us show the world #CreeksideCares.
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Scarlett and Larry Wilson have been collecting for and serving the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle for years. They have a drop box on their front porch to help our community provide donations. Each week, they deliver collected monetary donations, nonperishable items, and masks. Through their efforts, they are showing the world that Creekside Cares.

Larry retired after 34 years in the military and federal civil service, with a little private sector work thrown in at the end.  Scarlett is a retired registered nurse (from the old school where nurses actually did patient care , not computers).  They have one son, Patrick, and a daughter-in-law, Jennifer, who are posted in Nairobi, Kenya, where Patrick is a foreign service officer for USAID.  You might surmise that they are a family of public service.  Larry says, "We try to live by Luke 12:48: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."  Adds Scarlett, "We are fortunate to live in a lovely community with all we need.  Though we have no family nearby, we have many friends in this area and two near-perfect dogs.  In addition to our outreach with Creekside Cares and the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, we also serve through our church, Church of the Nativity. We enjoy serving the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle by packing and delivering food to Windsor Springs, a senior housing facility." Scarlett and Larry just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Please consider donating to Inter-Faith Food Shuttle by leaving nonperishable items on their porch (1016 Cadence Lane) or by making a monetary gift (checks payable to Inter-Faith Food Shuttle).  There is currently a matching program for monetary donations through the remainder of 2020. Food insecurity is a serious concern during the pandemic. All donations are appreciated and needed.

Creekside is very lucky to have Scarlett and Larry in our neighborhood. They are serving our community with heart.